Money Laundering Claims On AppLovin Shareholder Retracted By CapitalWatch

In a post published on its website dated Feb. 4, 2026 and subsequently shared in a X post on Monday, CapitalWatch issued an apology and formally retracted money laundering allegations against shareholder Hao Tang.

• CapitalWatch said that an internal review revealed that an insufficient independent verification process of the Court of Bordeaux judgement led to the erroneous association of the document with Hao Tang.
• The company also said that its allegations of direct connections between Tang and other persons cited in the earlier report were inaccurate and failed to meet its publication standards.
• However, CapitalWatch said that its stance on AppLovin’s “complex financial structure” remains unchanged.

Independent news organization CapitalWatch has retracted its claims of financial crimes by AppLovin Corporation’s (APP) primary shareholder, Hao Tang.

In a post published on its website dated Feb. 4, 2026 and subsequently shared in an X post on Monday, the short seller issued an apology, stating that it is “formally retracting specific characterizations and allegations contained therein regarding Mr. Tang Hao.”

On Jan. 20, CapitalWatch alleged in a report that AppLovin’s shareholders, Hao Tang and sister Ling Tang, laundered billions of dollars in black money. The report also claimed relationships with transnational criminal syndicates.

Shares of APP rose almost 15% on Monday at the time of writing.

Retraction Details

In its note, CapitalWatch said that a rigorous internal review of the report revealed that an insufficient independent verification process of the Court of Bordeaux (France) judgement led to the company “erroneously” associating the document with Hao Tang.

The company added that its allegations of direct connections between Tang and other persons cited in the earlier report, including Chen Zhi, Prince Group, Jin Bei Group, Tang Jun, and Yang Zhihui, were “inaccurate and failed to meet our publication standards,” which the short-seller said usually requires multiple non-anonymous sources to verify.

“Our review concluded that while the macro data and transaction structures highlighted in the original report warrant market scrutiny, the information currently available is legally insufficient to attribute these complex capital operations directly and exclusively to Mr. Tang,” the company said.

“We have chosen to retract the allegations directed at Mr. Tang personally out of strict adherence to evidentiary principles, not as a denial of the objective market phenomena observed,” it added.

However, CapitalWatch said that its stance on AppLovin’s “complex financial structure” remains unchanged, and that it will continue to independently analyze public market data on the firm.

Original Allegations

In its original report, CapitalWatch alleged that AppLovin’s core shareholder structure is linked to a transnational network of illicit capital flows spanning China, Southeast Asia, and the United States.

The short-seller said funds tied to China’s collapsed P2P lending platform Tuandai.com and large-scale offshore gambling operations were allegedly funneled through complex legal entities and offshore structures into U.S.-listed assets.

The report claimed that key figures, including AppLovin shareholder Hao Tang and Cambodian tycoon Zhi Chen, operated within overlapping financial and business networks connected to transnational criminal organizations.

It also said that AppLovin’s technology platform served as a critical infrastructure for a laundering mechanism.

AppLovin and its CEO denied the allegations and had demanded a retraction in a cease-and-desist letter at the time.

How Did Stocktwits Users React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around APP shares remained in the ‘bullish’ territory over the past 24 hours amid ‘high’ message volumes.

One Stocktwits user said an apology would not be enough and that the short-seller should be sued or fined.

Another user called it a ‘manipulation’ and said CapitalWatch should be investigated.

Shares of APP slid after the original report, but have gained over 21% in the past year.

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