Alibaba to pay $600 million over illegal drug sales, DoJ says

Investing.com -- Alibaba Group and its U.S.-based payment processor agreed to pay $600 million to settle charges that they failed to stop illegal drug sales, the U.S. Justice Department announced on Wednesday.

The Chinese technology and e-commerce company entered into non-prosecution agreements to resolve claims that it violated the U.S. Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The violations involved failing to prevent merchants from selling and importing illegal drugs, chemicals and pill presses into the United States through Alibaba's e-commerce platforms.

Alibaba and its U.S.-based payment processor, AUS Merchant Services, agreed to accept responsibility for the actions of their officers and employees as part of the settlement. The companies also committed to improving their compliance programs.

The Justice Department said Alibaba admitted that from 2016 to 2024, it failed to prevent approximately 80,000 product sales of chemicals, drugs and pharmaceutical counterfeiting equipment that were imported from overseas.

The transactions had a combined merchandise value of more than $200 million, according to the Justice Department. Law enforcement conducted more than 40 undercover purchases of illegal pharmaceuticals and counterfeiting equipment during the investigation.

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