SEC investigating Alibaba’s accounting practices

Chairman and chief executive of Alibaba Group Jack Ma reacts during a session of ”Future-Proofing the Internet Economy” at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in China’s port city Dalian, September 9, 2015.

Reuters/Jason Lee

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA.N) said it was being investigated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over whether the Chinese e-commerce company’s accounting practices violated any federal laws.

The company has provided the SEC with information about its accounting for its logistics unit, Cainiao Network, as well as operating data from its Singles’ Day shopping festival, according to Alibaba’s annual report filed on Monday. (bit.ly/1XwuQ1o)

Singles’ Day is the biggest shopping event in the world, larger than the United States’ Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined.

The company said it was cooperating with the SEC on the investigation.

(Reporting by Narottam Medhora in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)