Chinese court obliges Jack Ma corporation to pay $ 2.8 billion for violating monopoly laws • The move comes after he criticized the country's regulation
Alibaba Headquarters in Beijing // Photo: Reuters
China has ordered the Alibaba network corporation, owned by billionaire Jack Ma, to pay a whopping $ 2.8 billion in fines for violating the country's monopoly laws.
The state media in the country reported that the State Markets Regulatory Agency has imposed the heavy fines after a lengthy investigation against the corporation and the agreements it has signed with suppliers and customers in China.
The fine is equal to four percent of the corporation's sales in 2019 in China, China's state news agency Xinhua reported, and it dwarfs the largest fine imposed by the regulator in China, which stands at less than $ 1 billion, imposed on the American chip company Qualcomm.
China has tightened its control over technology companies in the country in recent months, as part of the regulatory effort of President Xi Jinping's regime to gain greater control over the local economy.
Last month, Shai explained to senior officials in the economy that the purpose of the effort is to tighten control over what is happening online and prevent instability in the country.
Alibaba received special treatment after Jack Ma harshly criticized the Chinese government's regulatory policy.
Ma himself went underground and was not seen in public for almost two months after the incident and has since rarely appeared in public.