China Evergrande Group said its founder and chairman, Xu Jiayin, had been placed under compulsory measures under the law for alleged criminal offences, ina sign of deeper troubles for the troubled property developer.
Chinese authorities recently restricted Mr. Xu's movements, two years after the real estate giant's financial troubles sparked a widespread real estate crisis across the country.
China Evergrande said in a statement late on Thursday that it had been informed by the authorities that Mr Xu "has been subjected to compulsory measures in accordance with the law for suspected illegal crimes".
Police in Guangdong province, Beijing and Guangzhou, where Evergrande is based, could not be reached for comment. Evergrande's brief statement also did not provide details of Mr. Xu's alleged crimes.