CEO of Alibaba.com was fired for fraudulent activity on the platform

Chief Executive David Wei leaves Alibaba.com Ltd along with Chief Operating Officer Elvis Lee on the grounds of being responsible for fraudulent activity by users of one of the company's platforms. The decision comes into effect immediately.

Alibaba reports that in the course of the investigation it was found that neither the two executives nor other members of senior management were involved in the activity. Alibaba said it found a noticeable increase in fraud claims by buyers against certain suppliers on its business-to-business platforms starting in late 2009 and through much of 2010.

Alibaba Group spokesman John Spelich stated that now Jonathan Lu, CEO of Alibaba Group's retail website Taobao.com, will separately run Alibaba.com as well.

Mr. Lu will "take leadership of the teams of people working on strategic direction of Alibaba.com," said Mr. Spelich, adding that he has credibility within the company as one of its earliest members. Mr. Lu has been with Alibaba Group for 11 years and has worked on multiple products.

Alibaba said the fraud investigation started when someone internal noticed suspicious activity and flagged it to the board.