Scandal-hit Luckin Coffee’s technology head resigns, WSJ reports

(Reuters) – Luckin Coffee Inc’s Chief Technology Officer He Gang has resigned, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

He left Luckin on Thursday after about seven months at the company due to personal reasons and was not involved in the accounting fraud at the company, the report https://www.wsj.com/articles/scandal-struck-luckin-coffee-loses-its-technology-chief-11588329078?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=1 said.

The company did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment.

Luckin, seen as a competitor to Starbucks Corp in China, has delayed the filing of its annual financial report as China’s top market regulator and securities watchdog are scrutinizing the company’s books.

The probe came after Luckin said an internal investigation had shown its chief operating officer and other employees fabricated sales deals worth about 2.2 billion yuan ($311.61 million).

(Reporting by Rebekah Mathew in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Sophie Yu in Beijing; Editing by Arun Koyyur)