China Probes Alleged Fraud at Luckin Coffee, Banks Review IPO Work

China Probes Alleged Fraud at Luckin Coffee, Banks Review IPO Work
A deliveryman walks past a closed Luckin Coffee store in Beijing, China, on Feb. 7, 2020. Jason Lee/Reuters
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HONG KONG/BEIJING—China’s securities regulator said on April 3 it would investigate claims of fraud at Luckin Coffee Inc., and sources said some of the banks involved in the Chinese chain’s successful U.S. IPO last year were reviewing their work in the listing.

Shares of Luckin, which competes in China with Starbucks Corp, sank as much as 81 percent on Thursday in New York after it announced an internal investigation had shown its chief operating officer and other employees fabricated sales deals.