The chief executive of Chinese refrigerator maker Kelon and two fellow executives have been arrested as securities regulators investigate the firm, Hong Kong and mainland Chinese media reported Monday.

The company, Guangdong Kelon Electrical Holdings Co., is also being run by local government authorities and its board has been dissolved, according to reports.

Kelon Chairman Gu Chujun, Deputy Chief Executive Yan Yousong and Assistant to the Chief Executive Jiang Yuan are being held, Chinese news Web site Sina.com reported.

It wasn't immediately clear when and where the reported arrests were made. Gu was likely arrested in Beijing, Hong Kong's Wen Wei Po newspaper said.

Gu is suspected of misusing Kelon's funds in the acquisition of other companies, Wen Wei Po said.

The paper also reported local authorities have taken custody of Kelon, based in the southern Chinese city of Shunde. Hong Kong's Sing Pao Daily News reported Kelon Chief Executive Liu Congmeng has dissolved the company's board of directors.

Calls to Kelon and the China Securities Regulatory Commission's press office went unanswered. A man who answered the phone at Beijing's police offices said he doesn't know about the case. He only gave his surname, Zhao.

Kelon said in May the China Securities Regulatory Commission has launched an investigation into the company on suspicion that it violated securities rules. It didn't elaborate at the time.

Hong Kong- and Shenzhen-listed Guangdong Kelon Electrical Holdings Co. has been suspended from trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange since June 16 pending a price-sensitive announcement.

In July, Kelon announced that three of its independent directors resigned because the company failed to provide them with information on "potentially abnormal" transactions.

Gu is also the founder of Greencool Group and chairman of Hong Kong-listed refrigerant maker Greencool Technology Holdings Ltd.

( Photo Source: Baidu )