An executive from Tencent Holdings Ltd., China’s most valuable listed company, has been arrested by Chinese authorities as part of an investigation into a high-profile corruption case involving one of the former senior law enforcement officials of the country, people familiar with the said subject.
Zhang Feng has been investigated by China’s anti-implant inspector since early last year for allegedly unauthorized sharing of personal data collected by Tencent’s WeChat social media app, according to people. They said Zhang was suspected of handing over WeChat data to former Deputy Minister of Public Security Sun Lijun, whom Beijing is investigating for undisclosed violations of Communist Party rules.
Investigators are studying what kind of data Mr. Zhang allegedly may have shared with Mr. Sun and what she could have done with him, people said.
Zhang was named vice president of Tencent in a statement released by the municipal government of Zhangjiakou, a city near Beijing, in which he described meeting with the city’s mayor in October 2018.
Tencent said that Mr. Zhang has never held a senior executive position in the company or a managerial position.