Alibaba agrees to pay $600 million to settle a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into illegal drug and prohibited goods sales.

Foreign Media: Alibaba agrees to pay $600 million to settle with the U.S. Department of Justice, closing the investigation into its e-commerce platforms allegedly facilitating illegal sales of drugs, controlled substances, and other prohibited items to the United States.

According to the recently disclosed settlement agreement, Alibaba and its affiliated company AUS Merchant Services (formerly Alipay USA, now a subsidiary of Ant Group) avoided criminal charges by signing a declination of prosecution agreement, but must acknowledge the misconduct and strengthen compliance management.

The U.S. Department of Justice stated that between 2016 and 2024, merchants on Alibaba's Global Marketplace and AliExpress conducted approximately 80,000 transactions involving illegal imports, including pharmaceuticals, controlled substances, precursor chemicals, and counterfeit equipment.

An Alibaba spokesperson described this as a "mutually satisfactory solution," emphasizing the company’s full cooperation with regulators and its commitment to the highest standards of compliance control.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1869579489746956/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) personally.