May 12 (UPI) -- China's rival to Starbucks, Luckin Coffee, announced Tuesday the departure of two senior management officials implicated in a fraud investigation.
The board of directors fired CEO Jenny Zhiya Qian and Chief Operating Officer Jian Liu. Both also resigned from the company's board.
Jinya Guo, senior vice president, was named acting CEO, and Wenbao Cao and Gang Wu, both senior vice presidents, were named to the board as replacements.
The departures come after six other employees who were involved in or had knowledge of the scandal were suspended or placed on leave.
In April, Luckin revealed that Liu fabricated about $310 million in sales in 2019, prompting the company's stock to fall 80 percent.
"The company has been cooperating with and responding to inquiries from regulatory agencies in both the United States and China," Luckin said. "The company will continue to cooperate with the internal investigation and focus on growing its business under the leadership of the board and current senior management."
