Former Alibaba manager suspected of taking bribes

Police detained a former Alibaba Group manager as part of an investigation into allegations he took bribes, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing an Alibaba statement Thursday. Before he was removed in March, Yan Limin was manager of Alibaba’s Juhuasuan website on which third-parties could offer group discount deals. Alibaba’s internal anticorruption commission is also involved in the investigating Yan as part of the companies wider effort to combat corruption. In the first half of 2012, Alibaba took action against 35 of its employees on suspicions of corruption, the company said. “We have the capability to put an end to the evil behavior, and make Alibaba Group a healthy, stable and sustainable enterprise,” Alibaba said in a written statement. The closely-held company is China’s largest e-commerce retailer and is worth over US$35 billion, according to estimates by US partner Yahoo! (YHOO.NASDAQ).