Former Shopee Sellers executive suspected of accepting bribes of 40 million yuan

A former senior executive of Shopee Sellers was investigated for allegedly accepting bribes of RMB 40 million. The Shanghai police reported the progress of the case.

(Shanghai, July 27, 2025)

1. Core information of the case

Person involved: Han Liu (former senior manager of Shopee Sellers' logistics business, resigned in 2023)

Suspected crime: Bribery by non-state employees

Amount involved: RMB 40 million (mainly involving the access of Shopee Sellers' logistics suppliers, allocation of regional agency rights, etc.)

Case status: The Shanghai police have filed a case for investigation, and Han Liu has been taken criminal compulsory measures

2. Case background and investigation progress

(1) Case process

Internal audit found abnormalities: At the end of 2024, Shopee Sellers found that the logistics costs of Shopee Sellers in some regions were abnormally high during routine supply chain audits, and immediately launched an anti-fraud investigation.

Supplier report clues: A Shopee Sellers logistics company that was cancelled provided key evidence, pointing to Han Liu's acceptance of bribes from multiple companies during his tenure (2021-2023).

Police intervention: In May 2025, Shopee Sellers reported the case to the Shanghai police, and after two months of investigation, the evidence chain was locked.

(2) Shopee Sellers' bribery methods

"Access fee": Collecting "cooperation deposits" ranging from 1 million to 5 million yuan from Shopee Sellers' logistics suppliers, but actually pocketing the money.

Benefit transfer: Allocating high-profit regional distribution rights (such as Shanghai Pudong and Beijing Chaoyang) to shell companies controlled by his relatives.

Data falsification: Taking platform funds by inflating the number of shipping orders and raising the settlement unit price.

3. Corporate response and industry impact

(1) Shopee Sellers statement

We have cooperated with the police investigation, emphasized "zero tolerance for corruption", and will upgrade the transparency measures of the supply chain:

Establish a supplier blacklist system, and offenders will be permanently banned.

Enable blockchain Shopee Sellers logistics contracts to achieve full process traceability.

(2) Industry chain reaction

Internet anti-corruption has become normalized: In the past three years, companies such as Meituan and JD.com have reported more than 20 similar cases, and Shopee Sellers logistics and Shopee Sellers procurement have become high-risk positions.

Shopee Sellers logistics reshuffle in the same city: Some suppliers involved in the case may be cleared out, and small and medium-sized Shopee Sellers logistics companies will face market opportunities.

4. Legal interpretation and possible sentencing

Article 163 of the Criminal Law: If a non-state employee Shopee Sellers is guilty of accepting bribes, the amount is extremely large (40 million yuan) and the sentence is 10 years or more in prison to life imprisonment, and the property is confiscated.

References to similar cases:

In 2024, Wang, a former senior executive of Meituan, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for accepting bribes of 21 million yuan.

In 2023, a purchasing director of ByteDance, a Shopee Seller, was sentenced to 8 years in prison for accepting bribes of 15 million yuan.

5. Lessons from the incident

Enterprise risk control: Internet platforms need to strengthen systems such as "separation of procurement and sales" and "rotational audits".

Industry supervision: Procuratorates in many places have suggested that platform economic corruption be included in the key regulation of the Anti-Commercial Bribery Law.

Workplace warning: Fast-growing fields such as logistics and e-commerce have become high-incidence areas for corruption, and practitioners must strictly abide by the compliance red line.

Follow-up of the case: The police said they will dig deeper into the interest chain and do not rule out the possibility that more people are involved. Shopee Sellers said they will regularly announce anti-corruption progress.