JD.com Unit Settles SEC Sham Deal Case

JD.com affiliate Dada Nexus Limited agreed on 11 September 2026 to pay a $500,000 civil penalty to resolve an administrative case brought by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The settlement addresses sham transactions that inflated company results between October 2022 and September 2023.

The SEC reported that Dada Nexus overstated net revenue by 568 million RMB, estimated at $80 million, through fabricated advertising deals. Over the same span, the entity overstated operations and support costs by 576 million RMB, or about $81 million.

The fabricated accounting affected multiple reporting periods. Net revenue was overstated by 8.24% in the second quarter of 2023 and by 9.34% in the third quarter of 2023. Meanwhile, operations and support costs were inflated by 14.24% in the second quarter of 2023 and by 14.32% in the third quarter of 2023.

The SEC issued a settled cease-and-desist order to conclude the administrative matter. The order did not levy a direct penalty on parent entity JD.com.