Ant Group fined $985 million by Chinese regulators

Chinese regulators are fining Ant Group 7.123 billion yuan ($985 million), claiming the financial technology provider violated laws related to corporate governance and consumer rights.

The People’s Bank of China imposed the fine on Friday.

“We will comply with the terms of the penalty in all earnestness and sincerity and continue to further enhance our compliance governance,” Ant Group said in a prepared statement.

According to the Bank of China, Ant violated laws and regulations related to corporate governance, financial consumer protection, participation in business activities of banking and insurance institutions, payment and settlement business, and attending to anti-money laundering obligations.

The company, which was founded by Jack Ma, is an affiliate of e-commerce giant Alibaba, which Ma also founded.

In January, it was announced that Ma would give up control of Ant Group. The move followed other efforts over the years by the Chinese government to rein in Ma and the country’s tech sector more broadly. Two years ago, the once high-profile Ma largely disappeared from view for 2 1/2 months after criticizing China’s regulators.

The government at the same time also forced Ant Group to call off a highly-anticipated IPO that would have raised over $3 billion, just days before it was to launch.

Yet Ma’s surrender of control came after other signs the government was easing up on Chinese online firms. Late last year Beijing signaled at an economic work conference that it would support technology firms to boost economic growth and create more jobs.

Also in January, the government said it would allow Ant Group to raise $1.5 billion in capital for its consumer finance unit.