Industry experts suspect the disappearance was linked to suspicions that bets were made during a live broadcast on the platform, Shanghai’s staterun newspaper The Paper reported on Monday.
DouYu, which has capital from the giant Tencent, is also listed in the USA with a market capitalization of 268 million dollars (around 250 million euros).
When asked by FrancePresse news agency about Chen’s whereabouts, a company spokesman did not comment, saying only that “DouYu’s business activities continue as normal.”
Chengdubased local website Cover News reported that company officials did not know Chen’s whereabouts and were unable to contact him.
Authorities have not released any information indicating Chen was arrested, but there are cases in China where senior company executives disappear before announcing they are under investigation.
Million dollar business under strict observation
Live streaming is an activity that generates millions in China, bringing huge revenue to both ecommerce giants and influencers.
The government is trying to combat content it deems “immoral” and has launched several investigations into major social media platforms as well as wellknown profiles with large followings. In May, authorities opened an investigation into DouYu over allegations of distributing pornography and other content deemed “vulgar.”