Jd.com is being sued by minitiao.com, an business-to-customer website controlled by jd.com, for deciding to sell its shares in the latter cheaply so as to make its financial report look better before it gets listed, the founder of minitiao.com said Thursday.

In a statement posted on her Weibo, Lai Dandan accused jd.com of unilaterally dismissing minitiao.com's operating team, transferring its client resources and stripping its key assets.

Jd.com has been trying to force Lai to accept its decision to sell all of its 80 percent stake in minitiao.com for a total of only 20 yuan ($3.22), Lai claimed.

If minitiao.com does not exercise its buyback preemption, the 80 percent will be sold to other parties, she said.

In order to make its financial data look better for its upcoming IPO, jd.com intends to get rid of minitiao.com as soon as the latter had done its job, Lai said.

In a statement e-mailed to the Global Times on Thursday, jd.com said it has entrusted an attorney to handle the case.

Lai's attorney demanded to buy back the shares in minitiao.com, the statement cited jd.com's attorney as saying.

Jd.com filed in January to raise $1.5 billion in an IPO in the US.

Jd.com acquired minitiao.com, an online mall selling goods imported from Japan and Korea, in early 2012. Jd.com held 80 percent of minitiao.com's shares, worth 8 million yuan, and Lai and her team held 20 percent at 2 million yuan, she said.

Minitiao.com earned 350 million yuan in sales in 2013, up 500 percent year-on-year, with the net profit exceeding 150 million yuan, Lai claimed