We are investigating 500.com Limited (WBAI) (“500.com” or the “Company”) for potential violations of the federal securities laws.
On December 31, 2019, 500.com issued a press release announcing “that the Company's Board of Directors (the ‘Board’) has formed a Special Investigation Committee (‘SIC’) to internally investigate alleged illegal money transfers and the role played by consultants following the arrest of one consultant (also a former director of the Company's subsidiary in Japan) and two former consultants by the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office.” 500.com further disclosed the resignation of Xudong Chen as Chairman of the Company’s Board, effective December 30, 2019, and that “the Board has accepted the request from Mr. Zhengming Pan, Director and Chief Executive Officer, to temporarily step aside from his positions, effective December 30, 2019, until the conclusion of the SIC’s investigation in order to ensure a thorough and fair investigation.” On this news, 500.com’s American depositary receipt price fell $0.94 per share, or 10.93%, to close at $7.66 per share on January 2, 2020, the following trading day.