Former GroupM China executives to face Shanghai court over bribery allegations

Campaign Asia-Pacific can exclusively confirm that three former GroupM China senior executives—Rycan Di, Yao Lan, and Diana Hong—will appear in a Shanghai Intermediate Court next week on Monday, 23 December, and Tuesday, 24 December. Their appearance is part of ongoing proceedings related to a bribery scandal that came to light in October 2023.

Di served as GroupM China’s chief investment officer, focusing on investment strategies and portfolio management. Lan, was managing director of negotiations, specialised in negotiations with media partners, with Hong, also a managing director of negotiations.

Campaign understands the court appearance is expected to result in a sentencing outcome in the coming weeks, though no official timeline has been confirmed.

A GroupM spokesperson responded with the following statement when contacted for comment:

“We are aware that the former GroupM employees detained by police in their personal capacity on charges of commercial bribery last year are scheduled to appear before the courts in Shanghai for their hearing on 23-24 December. It would therefore be inappropriate to comment at this stage.

"The employment of these individuals was terminated in 2023 and trade was suspended with any external organisation deemed to be part of the police investigation. Their dishonest actions violated our code of conduct and are not aligned with the values and principles that guide our business. We have fully cooperated with the authorities and conducted our own internal investigation with an independent third-party auditor.” 

In a new development, Campaign has also learned that a fourth individual, alleged to be a former member of GroupM's investments team, was detained for questioning last month (November 2024). Sources close to the matter have told Campaign that Chen Yuan, who is believed to have exited the company in in early 2024 during a remediation period that saw a wave of departures—including former GroupM China CEO and WPP’s country head Patrick Xu—is linked to the ongoing investigation. However, the exact circumstances surrounding this latest detention remain unclear, and it has not been confirmed whether the individual is still being held by police. 

The bribery scandal, which first surfaced in October 2023 and as reported by Campaign at the time, saw Shanghai’s economic police detain the above GroupM China executives over allegations of bribes related to media buys and advertising contracts. Investigations at the time revealed that the executives allegedly used their positions to facilitate illicit transactions, resulting in substantial financial and reputational damage to the agency. 

The case has cast a shadow over GroupM’s operations in China, having significant ripple effects across the industry and triggering widespread scrutiny of media buying practices—leading to client concerns and significant shifts in key accounts. This year, major brands including Dyson, Swatch, and Yum Brands placed their accounts under review, in some cases recaliberating decades-long relationships with the Group. Despite these challenges, GroupM recently celebrated a major account win with Unilever in South Asia and China, as well as a three-year global media strategy and media buying contract with Chinese smartphone company, Honor—signalling resillience in a challenging market.

More as the story develops.