The billionaire chairman of Chinese insurer Anbang, Wu Xiaohui, has stepped down after being detained by authorities.
The company has been one of the most high-profile bidders for real estate assets globally over the past few years. However, many large-scale deals in which it has been involved have fallen over during advanced negotiations.
The Chinese government has put the brakes on overseas investment by private companies over the past year by implementing capital controls to help shore up the renminbi.
Anbang’s £190bn of assets will now be managed by other senior executives.
Last month, China’s insurance regulator banned Anbang for three months for introducing new products into the market. The company was deemed to have caused havoc by using high-risk financial instruments and aggressive sales tactics.
In March Anbang withdrew from talks with the Kushner family to buy 666 Fifth Avenue in New York for $400m (£314m) before withdrawing. Last year Anbang came close to buying Starwood Hotels for nearly $14bn before walking away from the deal.
In 2015 it was in advanced negotiations to buy the Heron Tower, now the Salesforce Tower, EC2, for £750m but talks subsequently collapsed.
The arrest of Wu Xiaohui is part of a wider crackdown by the Chinese government on the financial sector and corruption.
Guo Guangchang, the chairman of Chinese conglomerate Fosun, went missing at the end of 2015 before re-appearing, having been assisting authorities with a probe.
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