500.com has formed a Special Investigation Committee 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.

Concurrently Mr. Xudong Chen, Chairman of the Board, has resigned, effective December 30, 2019. Mr. Chen’s resignation was not based on any disagreement with the Company on any matter related to its business, finance, accounting and/or any other affairs.

In addition, 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.

Mr. Shengwu Wu has been elected to replace Mr. Chen as Chairman of the Board and Mr. Zhaofu Tian, 500.com’s current Chief Technology Officer, has been appointed as Interim Chief Executive Officer, effective December 30, 2019 until the conclusion of the SIC’s investigation. Mr. Wu will join the Board’s Compensation Committee and chair the Strategic Planning Committee.

Mr. Wu joined Tsinghua Unigroup in September 2019 as an Executive Vice President. Prior to joining Tsinghua Unigroup, Mr. Wu served as the Deputy Director of the Department of Electronic Information under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People’s Republic of China. Mr. Wu holds a Ph.D from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, as well as a master’s and a bachelor’s degree from Tsinghua University.

The SIC of the Board is composed of Mr. Shengwu Wu, Chairman of the Board, Mr. Honghui Deng and Ms. Angel Yan Ki Wong, each independent director of the Board, and Ms. Amy Yang Zhou, General Manager of the International Collaboration Department of Tsinghua Unigroup.