Chairman of Fosun group, Guo Guangchang – known as China’s Warren Buffett – was thought to be missing but was later discovered to be in police custody

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

A billionaire known as China’s Warren Buffett has become the most high-profile business figure to be caught up in the country’s anti-corruption drive.

Fosun group, China’s largest private-sector conglomerate, has confirmed that its chairman, Guo Guangchang, has been detained by police and was helping authorities with an investigation.

Fosun, which boasts assets including the landmark One Chase Manhattan Plaza in New York, had been unable to reach Guo since noon on Thursday, according to the local business magazine Caixin, which cited anonymous sources.

Trading in shares in the group was suspended in Hong Kong after Guo’s disappearance, Fosun said in a statement. It will resume on Monday. “The company understands that Mr Guo is currently assisting in certain investigations carried out by mainland judiciary authorities,” it said.

It remained unclear whether Guo was under investigation or assisting investigators.

“We are still in shock,” one source at Fosun was quoted as saying by Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post. “Guo is very cautious in his handling of the government. As he often tells us, stay close to politics, but stay away from politicians.”

Fosun is due to hold its annual meeting on Monday, where Guo usually makes a speech, Chinese news portal Sohu said. He was being questioned in connection with an investigation into the former Shanghai deputy mayor and director of the Shanghai free trade zone, Ai Baojun, it added.

In social media posts on Thursday cited by Caixin, witnesses claimed to have seen police taking Guo away at a Shanghai airport after he flew into the city from Hong Kong. Guo’s account on Weibo, China’s Twitter, had been scrubbed of all posts by Friday morning.

Guo is China’s 17th richest person, with a net worth of $5.6bn (£3.7bn), according to Bloomberg News. He is a member of the Chinese people’s political consultative conference, a debating chamber that is part of the Communist party-controlled governmental structure.

Reports of Guo’s disappearance come amid a corruption crackdown that has spread through the nation’s finance industry in the wake of this year’s stock market debacle.

China’s financial watchdog, the securities regulatory commission, has stepped up investigations into local brokerage firms in recent weeks.

In August, the Fosun chairman was put under the spotlight when he was named in a corruption court case in Shanghai. According to state media reports, Guo was suspected of granting favours to an executive of a Chinese state-owned company in exchange for unspecified benefits.

On Sunday, China’s largest brokerage, Citic Securities, said it had been unable to contact two of its top executives.

At 48, Guo is one of China’s most powerful tycoons. Guo is the biggest shareholder in Fosun, which he founded with three classmates from Shanghai’s Fudan University.

Fosun has interests in industries as varied as pharmaceuticals, property, mining and even entertainment. The company has become a major international player, snapping up high-profile assets including Club Med, Cirque du Soleil.

Agence France-Presse contributed to this report