Trouble Ahead: China's eBay, Alibaba

Alibaba announced two of its most senior representatives, David Wei, the chief executive, and Elvis Lee, the chief operating officer, would resign to accept responsibility for the company having granted "golden status" to 2,236 dealers who it says had subsequently defrauded buyers.

Although the two executives were not personally implicated, the company had little choice than to accept their resignations and make a public disclosure about what happened.

Read all about it:

An online-fraud scandal in China:  Alibaba and the 2,236 thieves
The Economist (check out this December 2010 article as well)

Why Alibaba's CEO had to go
Fortune Tech

Alibaba.com CEO Resigns in Wake of Fraud by Sellers
WSJ.com

David Wei and Elvis Lee Quit Alibaba Amid Fraud Inquiry
NYTimes.com

I think this is only the tip of an iceberg ... watch it closely.