Chinese mobile game publisher reassigns nine executives after bribery allegations

China Mobile Games and Entertainment Group, a publisher in Hong Kong, said it has reassigned its president and eight other executives after the publication of allegations about bribery.

The company, which trades on Nasdaq under the stock symbol CMGE, said in a statement that it is “currently unaware of any evidence of bribery,” as news of this scandal surfaced more than a week ago. On Friday, the company announced a “restructuring” and the removal of nine executives.

After news of the bribery investigation was published, the company’s stock price fell 25 percent to $14.35 a share. But the stock price has since recovered somewhat and it is now at $15.80 a share.

Xiao Jian, the chief executive of CMGE, explained today what it’s doing with president Ying Shuling and eight other executives. While some publications said the executives were fired, the statement says that they are still employed pending the results of the investigation.

While it said it wasn’t aware of bribery evidence, the company said in a statement, “Nevertheless, in order to provide the highest level of transparency to its shareholders, the independent committee has been formed to look into and address the market speculations circulating in the market. An external law firm will be appointed to assist the independent committee. The Company will announce further update on the results of its independent committee’s investigation.”

CMGE publishes games for Android and iOS smartphones via handset preinstalls, its own Game Center app, and other networks. In 2013, CMGE reported $58 million in revenue and net income of $4.4 million. It has 72 games and 113 million registered users.