Shares Alibaba (HK:) fell Tuesday in Hong Kong on the reports that the company’s founder Jack Ma is being investigated over national security concerns.

A report published by Chinese state media showed that the Hangzhou security bureau adopted “criminal coercive measures” against an individual with the last name Ma over suspicion of threatening national security using the Internet.

A separate report by Global Times said that the individual being investigated is the director of a technology company’s hardware research and development business.

According to recent reports, the person had a Chinese name and a Chinese character for his first name. Jack Ma’s first name in Chinese has one character.

The security bureau is looking into the case and the mentioned “coercive measures” could mean detention, bail, or arrest.

Jack Ma no longer holds executive roles in Alibaba after he stepped down from the company’s board in 2020.

Alibaba shares in New York are currently down 0.6%

By Senad Karaahmetovic