BEIJING — The billionaire founder of JD.com, one of China’s largest and most successful online retailers, was arrested Friday in Minnesota for alleged sexual misconduct before being released a day later, police records show.

In a statement posted Sunday afternoon on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, JD.com said the executive, Liu Qiangdong — who goes by Richard Liu in the English speaking world — had been falsely accused. “During a business trip to the United States, Mr. Liu was questioned by police in Minnesota in relation to an unsubstantiated accusation,” the company said. “The local police quickly determined there was no substance to the claim against Mr. Liu, and he was subsequently able to resume his business activities as originally planned.”

Police officials in Minneapolis said they were treating the case as an active investigation.

The matter is another unwelcome bit of publicity for a company that symbolizes the business potential of China’s rising middle class. The accusation could also be a test of JD.com’s stability, as well as the ability of a Chinese technology company to rebound from the problems of its leaders. China’s most powerful technology companies are still tightly controlled by their founders, so the fortunes of businesses worth tens or even hundreds of billions of dollars are closely intertwined with the fates of a small number of executives.

JD.com, whose shares trade in the United States, has prospered by catering to the increasing sophistication of Chinese shoppers. Big global brands such as Nike, Prada and Levi’s use JD.com’s sales platform to reach the country’s burgeoning middle class, and the company is closely watched as an indicator of consumer confidence.