Beijing Places Outspoken Tycoon Under Investigation for Criticizing Regime’s Virus Response

Ren Zhiqiang, president of Hua Yuan Group, delivers a speech during the 2006 High-End Economic Forum at Luxehills International Club in Chengdu, China, on Jan. 7, 2006. China Photos/Getty Images

Chinese tycoon and princeling Ren Zhiqiang is under investigation by the Communist Party, following his disappearance in mid-March.

Ren, 69, is suspected of “serious violations of Party discipline and the law,” said the Beijing municipal branch of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), an internal Party anti-corruption watchdog, in an online announcement on April 7.