The parent company of retail giant Alibaba and payments firm Alipay has been slapped with a massive fine by the Chinese government, amounting to $994 million.
Corporate governance and violations of consumer protection laws were listed amongst Ant Groups’ alleged misdemeanors. Ant Group had also broken rules relating to “business activities in banking and insurance, payments, anti-money laundering, and funds sales,” said a joint statement from the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the People’s Bank of China, and the National Financial Regulatory Administration.
BBC News adds: “The fine…included the confiscation of more than 550 million yuan (£59m) in "ill-gotten income".Ant Group said in a statement: “We will comply with the terms of the penalty in all earnestness and sincerity and continue to further enhance our compliance governance.”Ant Group was not alone in being fined. Its rival, Tencent, is facing a $412m fine.
The fines come at what is now mooted to be the end of a regime of tightening controls on tech firms, encompassing everything from competition to data protection. The controls were largely pointed at as the reason Ant Group suspended its IPO just days before its launch. CNN reports: “It was on track to raise $37 billion and become the biggest share sale in history.” The Chinese government is now promising a time of more "normalized supervision".
