An investigation has begun against the son of the former Chinese "king of the economy"

Liu Tianzhan, a Chinese financier and founder and first chairman of investment company Skycus Capital, is under investigation on suspicion of corruption, the Financial Times reports.

Liu Tianzhan's father is Liu He, a former vice premier who is described as China's "economic kingpin." According to the FT, he was a trusted representative of Chinese President Xi Jinping and led trade negotiations with the US administration during Donald Trump's first term.

According to one of the sources, Liu Tianzhan was detained. Two other sources said the investigation had been ongoing for at least six months. The case is related to plans for a $37 billion IPO by Ant Group, founded by Jack Ma. The IPO was canceled in 2020 on the orders of Xi Jinping.

The publication writes that during the investigation, officials identified “unrelated corruption cases” and reported them to the head of state.

Liu Tianzhan left Skycus in 2017, six months before his father joined the 25-member Politburo of the Communist Party of China. Liu He was later appointed vice premier and began to oversee the financial sector. Sources close to Skycus told the FT that Liu Jr. continued to participate in company deals in 2021.

Skycus has partnered with Chinese technology giants such as Tencent and JD.com.

Anti-corruption investigations in the country will intensify after Xi Jinping is re-elected as president of the PRC in the spring of 2023. In 2024, 889,000 officials were prosecuted. Also, more than 80 executives of companies related to stock exchanges were detained.

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