(Yicai Global) Jan. 16 -- Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings has stepped up its internal anti-graft efforts over the past year, investigating an increasing number of more than 70 such cases, resulting in one three-year jail sentence.

More than 100 people were dismissed in 2022 for violating Tencent's internal regulatory requirements, the Shenzhen-based firm said in a statement today. Additionally, more than 10 people were handed to the police due to being suspected of crimes.

Zhang Yin, a former producer of the Platform and Content Group, was sentenced to three years in prison for taking bribes. The company that was giving the sweeteners had to pay a fine of CNY100,000 (USD14,920) and its legal representative was sentenced to two years in prison.

Zhang was already investigated by authorities in October 2021 but Tencent did not disclose the reason at that time. During his tenure, the ex-producer was involved in the creation of several TV shows, including drama series You Are My Glory. 

The PCG is the most troubled unit of the game and social media platform developer as 10 out of the 18 disclosed cases came from this group.

In December, founder Pony Ma said in a staff meeting that the company has serious corruption problems. He said that Tencent's tightened internal regulation efforts to reduce costs and increase efficiency since last year have made many long-existing problems, including graft, prominent.

The WeChat operator's profitability has declined in the past two years amid the country's tightening internet regulation. In the first three quarters of last year, Tencent's net profit fell by 37 percent to CNY82 billion (USD12.2 billion) from the previous year while its revenue slid by 2 percent to CNY409.6 billion (USD60.9 billion), based on the latest earnings report.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi