Financial crimes down last year but overall situation remains severe
Procuratorates have fully exerted their functions to provide higher-level judicial support for the equal development of various business entities, the promotion of innovation-driven development and the maintenance of financial security over the past year, as stated in the annual work report of China's top procuratorate.
It noted that they also prioritized the use of legal means to stabilize social expectations and boost market confidence, prosecuting 121,000 individuals for sabotaging market economy order in 2023, marking a 20.4 percent year-on-year increase.
Ying Yong, the procurator-general of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, delivered the work report on Friday and submitted it to the ongoing second session of the 14th National People's Congress, the country's top legislature, for review.
To promote expansion and development of the private economy, the SPP issued a document urging prosecutors to strictly distinguish between economic disputes and actual crimes, administrative violations and criminal offenses, as well as crimes committed by entities and individuals, it said.
Procuratorates resolutely corrected problems such as using nefarious means to intervene in civil and economic disputes, and addressed issues related to overstepping boundaries and time limits in the seizure, detention and freezing of assets, thereby contributing to optimization of the business environment.
The SPP also introduced measures to target infringements on the interests of private enterprises by personnel in key positions — such as violations including embezzlement, fund misappropriations and bribery — thus pushing forward the establishment of internal corruption-fighting mechanisms within private enterprises.
Offering sound protection of intellectual property rights was a point highlighted in the report amid efforts to improve the business environment. About 18,000 individuals were prosecuted for crimes including infringements of trademarks, patents, copyrights and trade secrets, representing a 40.8 percent year-on-year increase.
Moreover, the SPP introduced 45 measures to strengthen comprehensive protections in IPR cases and enhance protection of trade secrets in litigation proceedings to prevent "secondary leakage", with the body also launching special supervision over malicious IPR litigation cases.
Safeguarding financial stability was another priority by procuratorates to secure the business environment. Last year, they prosecuted 27,000 individuals for crimes related to financial fraud and disrupting financial management order. Among them, 18,000 were involved in fraudulent fundraising and illegal use of public deposits, the report said.
The top procuratorate also supervised multiple major securities crime cases, with 346 individuals prosecuted for securities crimes such as fraudulent issuances, insider trading and market manipulation. Moreover, 2,971 people were prosecuted for money laundering, up 14.9 percent year-on-year.
The SPP noted that although the number of cases has decreased, the overall situation remains severe and complex. Financial criminals closely follow changes in trending topics and devise scams to deceive the public, and collusion between internal and external parties in cases involving financial institutions has become increasingly apparent.
The mixed financial risks in different industries and sectors have become more pronounced, such as traditional industries taking on roles reserved for the financial sector, and licensed institutions becoming involved in illegal financial activities, resulting in a broader impact.
The SPP pledged to further intensify the crackdown on such crimes and actively promote the governance of financial risk in the industry.
In addition, according to the annual work report of the Supreme People's Court, which was delivered by SPC President Zhang Jun on Friday, the court effectively resolved disputes, prevented risks and promoted governance in the financial sector. Last year, about 3.03 million financial cases were adjudicated, an 8 percent year-on-year increase.
Given the continuously rising number of disputes related to credit cards and insurance policies, the top court issued judicial suggestions to urge related regulators to promote credit examination and better regulate the insurance sector, thus jointly strengthening financial regulation.
Courts nationwide finalized 6,779 cases of bribery and embezzlement by non-State employees last year, up 26.6 percent year-on-year, to support private enterprises in eradicating internal corruption. They also adjudicated 490,000 IPR cases, a 1.8 percent year-on-year increase, in order to safeguard innovation-driven development.
