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Alibaba agrees to pay US$600 million to settle US probe into illegal product sales
Amount resolves dispute with US government over allegations firm sold and imported illegal pharmaceuticals and controlled substances into US
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Teresa Elena Frontadoin Washington
Alibaba Group will pay US$600 million to settle a US Department of Justice investigation into allegations that its e-commerce platforms enabled the sale of thousands of illegal pharmaceuticals, controlled substances, and other prohibited products into the United States, marking one of the largest criminal resolutions involving a Chinese technology company.
The settlement, announced on Wednesday, resolves the investigation through non-prosecution agreements with Alibaba and AUS Merchant Services, formerly known as Alipay US and now a subsidiary of Ant Group. While the companies avoided criminal prosecution, they accepted responsibility for the conduct described by the Justice Department and agreed to strengthen their compliance programmes.
In a statement to the South China Morning Post, an Alibaba spokesperson said the company had reached “a mutually satisfactory resolution” with US regulators over compliance involving third-party merchants selling products into the United States.
“This settlement reflects a thorough regulatory process with Alibaba’s full cooperation and our commitment to best-in-class standards of control, policies, and measures against non-compliant product sales,” the spokesperson said.
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