Alibaba closes 26 shops for bribery

An advertisement for online shopping site Taobao.com of Alibaba Group is seen at a metro station in Shanghai, Nov 12, 2014. [Photo/IC]

Alibaba Group has permanently shut down 26 Taobao shops for trying to bribe its staff and seeking improper gains, announced the company.

The move came after the Chinese e-commerce behemoth vowed to clamp down on fake goods, bogus transaction and corruption to uphold a healthy eco-system for shoppers.

"There are no so-called 'shortcuts' or 'unspoken rules' on Alibaba's platforms. Integrity is the only way to tomorrow," the company wrote in an open letter to its vendors on Tuesday.

According to its regulation, members who seek improper gains by bribing Alibaba's staff will be banned from the platform and wrongdoers will be reported to law enforcement departments.

"Alibaba will spare no efforts to continue to improve its employee protocols and corporate rules, and to safeguard honesty and transparency," the company reiterated, while urging shoppers to report on any violations via its integrity platform.

Alibaba's eco-system has been under the spotlight since the company's $25 billion initial public offering in September of last year. Its shares fell nearly 3 percent on Mar 3 after the Wall Street Journal revealed sellers on Taobao struggled to bloat sales and gain prominence by paying others to pretend to be customers.