7 Takeaways From Our Investigation Into a Secret Investor in Jack Ma’s Companies

No businessman in China was more successful, famous or rich than Jack Ma, whose magic touch turned companies like Alibaba into international juggernauts. He was also unafraid to cross the Chinese authorities, insisting he would not do business with them.

But an investigation by The New York Times and The Wire China found that another Chinese businessman, with deep connections to relatives of China’s political elite, had been secretly investing in Mr. Ma’s companies. Through a network of shell companies and stand-ins, that businessman, Xiao Jianhua, entered into deals in Mr. Ma’s companies over a period of five years, the investigation found.

Mr. Xiao, a billionaire, is now in detention serving a 13-year-sentence for bribery and corruption, a high-profile target in President Xi Jinping’s dramatic consolidation of power.

Mr. Ma, for his part, has all but retreated from public life, having no formal role in the companies he founded. A lawyer for Alibaba said that Mr. Ma “never had any business relationship with Mr. Xiao,” and that “the connections you claim to exist do not have any basis in fact.” Two of Mr. Ma’s major partners said they had looked and found no links to Mr. Xiao.

Mr. Xiao could not be reached for comment, but a former senior executive at his now-defunct company confirmed that it was behind the investments. “As far as we know,” the executive said, “Jack Ma was unaware of those deals.”

Here are seven takeaways from The Times and The Wire China’s investigation.

The men’s companies were enmeshed in at least $1 billion in deals.

Behind the scenes, Mr. Xiao’s Tomorrow Group secured lucrative shares in an array of Mr. Ma’s businesses, according to an examination of more than 2,000 confidential documents from the company. There was no evidence in the documents, provided by a former employee, that Mr. Ma knew of the transactions.