麻豆约拍

On the eve of what would have been the world's largest share listing, Ant Financial founder Jack Ma, the Chinese billionaire mysteriously disappeared. Things started to go wrong for Ma after he told a room full of banking regulators that their methods were out of date and not fit for purpose. Shortly afterwards, the Chinese government cancelled the listing and Jack went silent. The extroverted charismatic billionaire, who once flourished in the public eye, simply did not show up at key events.

It is happening more and more often in China; some of the country's most famous and powerful people are disappearing after coming into conflict with the Communist Party. China's most famous actress, the Chinese head of the international police agency Interpol and even a top news presenter all disappeared.

So what has happened to Jack Ma? Journalist Celia Hatton, who spent 15 years living and reporting in China, investigates.

(Photo: Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba Group. Credit: Getty Images)