Independent director steps down to prevent 'unwarranted attention'

NEW YORK - The head of the audit committee at Renren Inc has resigned to protect the Chinese social-networking company from any possible fallout from accusations of accounting fraud at another company where he is an executive.

Derek Palaschuk, chief financial officer of China-based Longtop Financial Technologies Ltd, told Reuters in an interview on Monday that he formally resigned from Renren's board of directors over the weekend.