Alibaba to pay US $600m to settle allegations it allowed illegal drug and equipment sales
WASHINGTON: The Chinese tech giant Alibaba will pay $600 million to resolve a dispute with the US government over allegations that the Hangzhou-based firm sold and imported illegal pharmaceuticals, controlled substances, regulated chemicals, and pill-making equipment into the US
Alibaba operates some of the world’s largest e-commerce platforms, including Alibaba.com and AliExpress.com.
The US alleges that Alibaba’s US-based payment processor, AUS Merchant Services, violated federal law by failing to prevent merchants from selling and importing illegal products into the US through Alibaba.com and AliExpress.com.
Alibaba acknowledges in an agreement with the Justice Department that between January 2016 and December 2024, it failed to stop roughly 80,000 product sales involving unlawful imports that violated the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and other federal laws.
