Alibaba has taken decisive action in its ongoing anti-corruption campaign, dismissing the user operations head of its secondhand marketplace Xianyu (alias "Shimo") for severe violations of data security protocols. The executive was found to have exported critical platform data to personal iCloud storage and accepted paid consultations from external parties, breaching company confidentiality rules. Alibaba has not publicly commented on the matter.
Data from QuestMobile reveals Xianyu's strong market position, ranking 32nd among Chinese mobile apps with 217 million monthly active users (MAU) in September. The platform leads the secondhand trading category and shows particularly strong growth among Gen Z users, with 47.1% year-over-year MAU increase to 4.36 million in October.
The incident highlights growing data security concerns across China's tech sector. As a core operations manager, the dismissed executive had access to sensitive user profiles, traffic algorithms, and business strategies - all considered vital corporate assets. Similar violations have drawn strict responses from other tech giants, with ByteDance firing 100 employees in Q2 2025 for policy breaches including paid external consultations.
Alibaba has institutionalized its anti-corruption efforts since establishing its Integrity and Compliance Department in 2012. The company now operates over 120 reporting channels and delivered 58,000 hours of compliance training in FY2025. Recent years have seen over 100 corruption cases referred to authorities, including 33 in FY2025 alone.
Notably, Alibaba's 2025 ESG report introduced managerial accountability for anti-corruption, tying leadership performance evaluations directly to team compliance outcomes. The policy echoes founder Jack Ma's famous declaration that "Alibaba's integrity department can investigate anyone, including me."
The crackdown comes as Xianyu assumes greater strategic importance within Alibaba's restructured e-commerce ecosystem. Promoted to a Tier-1 business unit in 2023, the platform has begun monetizing through seller fees (1% for high-volume traders since June 2023, expanding to 0.6% universal fees in September 2024) while targeting younger users and lifestyle commerce.
The case follows recent high-profile corruption prosecutions in China's tech sector, including the June 2025 arrest of former Ele.me CEO Han Liu for allegedly accepting over 40 million yuan in bribes during his tenure. As internet companies transition from rapid growth to sustainable operations, such enforcement actions underscore the industry's increasing focus on governance and compliance as foundational elements for long-term success.