(Yicai) Jan. 23 -- Tencent Holdings uncovered more than 70 internal corruption cases last year, dismissing over 90 employees who crossed internal compliance “red lines” and referring more than 20 of them to police for suspected criminal activity, one of China’s largest internet firms reported today.

The cases involved serious violations of laws and regulations, including commercial bribery and duty encroachment, reflecting intensified internal controls. Tencent said it has consistently taken a zero-tolerance approach to misconduct in recent years.

Tencent made real-name disclosures of 19 major cases, including five from the Cloud and Smart Industries Group, four each from the Corporate Development Group and the Platform and Content Group, two each from the Interactive Entertainment Group and the WeChat Group, and two involving subsidiaries Heyu Technology and Tengzhuo Consulting, according to the company statement.

Among them, Ye Huahua from Heyu’s game center illegally appropriated company assets by abusing his position. A court found Ye guilty of duty encroachment, sentencing him to three years in prison and a fine of CNY100,000 (USD14,361), the most severe penalty among the disclosed cases. He Yongkang from the Interactive Entertainment Group was sentenced to one year and two months in prison and fined CNY20,000 (USD2,868) for the same offense, while Qin Yuan from the Cloud and Smart Industries Group received a six-month prison term and a CNY40,000 fine.

In recent years, Chinese internet companies have stepped up internal governance to improve organizational efficiency and profitability. Over the past three years, Tencent has dismissed around 100 employees annually through anti-corruption investigations and permanently barred them from re-employment at the company.

Other major internet firms have also regularly disclosed progress in internal anti-corruption efforts. ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, said in December that it dismissed 120 employees in the third quarter for violating internal compliance rules, with 14 of them referred to police for suspected crimes.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Emmi Laine