Alibaba announced today that it has removed Jiang Fan, president of the company’s marketplaces Taobao and Tmall, from its list of partners after an investigation into Jiang’s alleged affair with a social media influencer who is a co-founder of Alibaba-backed KOL agency Ruhnn.

On April 17, a Weibo user described by Chinese media as Jiang Fan’s wife posted a statement that warned social media influencer Zhang Dayi, not to “mess around” with her husband. Jiang has asked the company to launch an investigation into his own behavior.

Jiang Fan was widely seen as a potential successor to Zhang Yong, the current CEO of the Alibaba Group. This tough career setback for the 35-year-old Jiang, who is also the youngest member of Alibaba’s partners’ committee, might mean a change to the e-commerce giant’s succession plans.