Interpretations of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Several Issues concerning the Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases involving Corruption and Bribery

March 25, 2016

(Adopted at the 1680th Session of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People's Court on March 28, 2016 and at the 50th Session of the 12th Procuratorial Committee of the Supreme People's Procuratorate on March 25, 2016 for implementation as of April 18, 2016)

In order to punish criminal activities involving corruption and bribery in accordance with the law, the Interpretations of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Several Issues concerning the Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases involving Corruption and Bribery (hereinafter referred to as the "Interpretations") are hereby announced as follows in accordance with the Criminal Law:

Article 1 A person convicted of corruption or accepting of bribes involving an amount of not less than CNY30,000 but less than CNY200,000 shall be deemed to have committed the crime of corruption or acceptance of bribes with a "relatively large amount" as prescribed in Paragraph 1 of Article 383 of the Criminal Law and shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment or criminal detention of not more than three years and concurrently sentenced to a fine.
A person convicted of corruption involving an amount of not less than CNY10,000 but less than CNY30,000 and falls under any of the following circumstances shall fall under "other relatively serious circumstances" as prescribed in Paragraph 1 of Article 383 of the Criminal Law and sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment or criminal detention of not more than three years and concurrently sentenced to a fine:
1. corruption involving money or articles designated for disaster relief, emergency response, flood prevention, special care for disabled servicemen and the families of revolutionary martyrs and servicemen, aid to the poor, migration, social relief, epidemic prevention and public donation;
2. who was previously subject to party discipline or administrative penalty due to corruption, acceptance of bribes, or misappropriation of public funds;
3. who previously criminally prosecuted due to intentional offense;
4. who uses the illegally obtained money or articles for illegal activities;
5. who refuses to confess the use of the illegally obtained money or articles or refuses to cooperate with relevant authorities in recovering the illegally obtained money or articles resulting in to impossibility to recover the same; and
6. whose crime results in baneful influence or any other grave consequences.
A person convicted of accepting bribes amounting to not less than CNY10,000 but less than CNY30,000 and falls under any of the circumstances prescribed in Item 2 to Item 6 of the preceding paragraph or under any of the following circumstances shall fall under "other relatively serious circumstances" as prescribed in Paragraph 1 of Article 383 of the Criminal Law and sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment or criminal detention of not more than three years and concurrently sentenced to a fine:
1. who extorts bribes repeatedly;
2. who seeks illegitimate benefits for others causing loss to the interests of public property, the State and the people; and
3. who seeks the promotion or adjustment of others.

Article 2 A person convicted of corruption or accepting of bribes amounting to not less than CNY200,000 but less than CNY3 million shall be found to have committed the crime of corruption or acceptance of bribes with a "substantial amount" as prescribed in Paragraph 1 of Article 383 of the Criminal Law and sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than ten years and concurrently sentenced to a fine or confiscation of property.
For corruption involving an amount of not less than CNY100,000 but less than CNY200,000 and falls under the circumstance as prescribed in Paragraph 2 of Article 1 hereof shall fall under "other serious circumstances" as prescribed in Paragraph 1 of Article 383 of the Criminal Law, a sentence of a fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than ten years with concurrent fine or confiscation of property shall be imposed.
For corruption or acceptance of bribes amounting to not less than CNY100,000 but less than CNY200,000 and falls under the circumstance prescribed in Paragraph 3 of Article 1 hereof shall fall under "other serious circumstances" as prescribed in Paragraph 1 of Article 383 of the Criminal Law, a sentence of a fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than ten years with concurrent fine or confiscation of property shall be imposed.

Article 3 A person convicted of corruption or acceptance of bribes amounting to not less than CNY3 million shall be found to have committed the crime of corruption or acceptance of bribes with an "especially substantial amount" as prescribed in Paragraph 1 of Article 383 of the Criminal Law and sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than ten years, life imprisonment or death penalty and concurrently sentenced to a fine or confiscation of property.
A person convicted of corruption involving an amount of not less than CNY1.5 million but less than CNY3 million and falls under the circumstance prescribed in Paragraph 2 of Article 1 hereof shall fall under "other especially serious circumstances" as prescribed in Paragraph 1 of Article 383 of the Criminal Law and sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than ten years, life imprisonment or death penalty and concurrently sentenced to a fine or confiscation of property.
A person convicted of accepting bribes amounting to not less than CNY1.5 million but less than CNY3 million and falling under the circumstance prescribed in Paragraph 3 of Article 1 hereof shall fall under "other especially serious circumstances" as prescribed in Paragraph 1 of Article 383 of the Criminal Law and sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than ten years, life imprisonment or death penalty and concurrently sentenced to a fine or confiscation of property.

Article 4 A person convicted of corruption or accepts bribes with an especially substantial amount, with especially serious criminal circumstance, especially bad social influence or especially significant losses to the interest of the State and the people, may be sentenced to death penalty.
Where a person falls under the circumstance prescribed in the preceding paragraph but voluntarily surrenders, performs meritorious service, truthfully confesses his or her crime, shows true repentance, and gives up the illegally obtained money or articles or avoids or reduces the harmful consequences may be sentenced to death penalty with two-year suspension of execution if immediate execution is not compulsory.
A person who falls under the circumstance prescribed in Paragraph 1 may be sentenced to death penalty with two-year probation depending on the circumstance of crime, and the people's court may decide at the same time to commute the sentence into that of life imprisonment after the expiration of the two-year probation in accordance with the law, such convicted persons shall be imprisoned for life without any other commutation or release on parole.

Article 5 A person who misappropriates public funds amounting to not less than CNY30,000 for conducting illegal activities shall be found guilty of misappropriation of public funds in accordance with Article 384 of the Criminal Law; where the amount involved is not less than CNY3 million, he or she shall be found misappropriating a "substantial amount" of public funds as specified in Paragraph 1 of Article 384 of the Criminal Law. A person who has any of the following circumstances shall fall under "serious circumstance" as prescribed in Paragraph 1 of Article 384 of the Criminal Law:
1. who misappropriates public funds amounting to not less than CNY1 million;
2. who misappropriates funds or articles designated for disaster relief, emergency rescue, flood prevention and control, special care for disabled servicemen and the families of revolutionary martyrs and servicemen, aid to the poor, migration and social relief which amount to not less than CNY500,000 but less than CNY1 million;
3. who misappropriates public funds amounting to not less than CNY500,000 but less than CNY1 million and fails to return them; and
4. any other serious circumstances.

Article 6 A person who misappropriates public funds amounting to not less than CNY50,000 for profit-making activities or fails to return them after the lapse of three months shall be found misappropriating a "relatively large amount" of public funds as specified in Paragraph 1 of Article 384 of the Criminal Law; in involving not less than CNY5 million, he or she shall be found misappropriating a "substantial amount" of public funds as specified in Paragraph 1 of Article 384 of the Criminal Law. A person falling under any of the following circumstances shall be found as falling under "serious circumstances" as prescribed in Paragraph 1 of Article 384 of the Criminal Law:
1. who misappropriates public funds amounting to not less than CNY2 million;
2. who misappropriates funds or articles designated for disaster relief, emergency rescue, flood prevention and control, special care for disabled servicemen and the families of revolutionary martyrs and servicemen, aid to the poor, migration and social relief which amount to not less than CNY1 million but less than CNY2 million;
3. who misappropriates public funds amounting to not less than CNY1 million but less than CNY2 million and fails to return them; and
4. any other serious circumstances.

Article 7 A person who, for the purpose of securing illegitimate benefits, offers bribes amounting to not less than CNY30,000 to a State functionary shall be criminally prosecuted as having committed the crime of offering bribes as prescribed in Article 390 of the Criminal Law.
A person who offers bribes amounting to not less than CNY10,000 but less than CNY30,000 shall be prosecuted for committed the crime of offering bribes as prescribed in Article 390 of the Criminal Law if he or she:
1. offers bribes to three or more persons;
2. offers bribes with illegal gains;
3. offers bribes with the purpose of seeking job promotion or adjustment;
4. offers bribes to a State functionary responsible for the supervision and administration of food, drugs, work safety, environmental protection and so on to carry out illegal activities;
5. offers bribes to a judicial officer which affects judicial justice; or
6. causes economic losses of not less than CNY500,000 but less than CNY1 million.

Article 8 A person who commits the crime of offering bribes shall fall under "serious circumstance" as prescribed in Paragraph 1 of Article 390 of the Criminal Law if:
1. the bribes offered amount to not less than CNY1 million but less than CNY5 million;
2. the bribes offered amount to not less than CNY500,000 but less than CNY1 million and the case falls under any of the circumstances prescribed in Item 1 to Item 5, Paragraph 2 of Article 7 hereof; or
3. any other serious circumstances occur.
A person who, for the purpose of securing illegitimate benefits, offers bribes to a State functionary which causes economic losses of not less than CNY1 million but less than CNY5 million shall be found as "having caused heavy losses to the interests of the State" as prescribed in Paragraph 1 of Article 390 of the Criminal Law.

Article 9 A person who commits the crime of offering bribes and has any of the following circumstances shall be found to fall under "especially serious circumstance" as prescribed in Paragraph 1 of Article 390 of the Criminal Law:
1. the bribes offered amount to not less than CNY5 million;
2. the bribes offered amount to not less than CNY2.5 million but less than CNY5 million and the case falls under any of the circumstances prescribed in Item 1 to Item 5, Paragraph 2 of Article 7 hereof; and
3. any other especially serious circumstances.
A person who, for the purpose of securing illegitimate benefits, offers bribes to a State functionary which causes economic losses of not less than CNY5 million shall be found as "having caused especially heavy losses to the interests of the State" as prescribed in Paragraph 1 of Article 390 of the Criminal Law.

Article 10 For the applicable standards for the conviction of crime and the determination of punishment concerning the crime of accepting bribes by using of one's influence as prescribed in Paragraph 1 of Article 388 of the Criminal Law, the provisions hereof on the crime of accepting bribes shall apply mutatis mutandis.
For the applicable standards for the conviction of crime and the determination of punishment concerning the crime of offering bribes to an influential person as prescribed in Paragraph 1 of Article 390 of the Criminal Law, the provisions hereof on the crime of offering bribes shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Where an institution offers bribes amounting to not less than CNY200,000 to an influential person, it shall be criminally prosecuted as having committed the crime of offering bribes to an influential person as prescribed in Paragraph 1 of Article 390 of the Criminal Law.

Article 11 The starting points for the circumstances of "relatively large amount" and "substantial amount" with respect to the crime of accepting bribes by a non-state functionary as prescribed in Article 163 and the crime of duty encroachment as prescribed in Article 271, of the Criminal Law, shall be two times and five times, respectively, of the corresponding standards for amount involved in the crime of accepting bribes and the crime of corruption as prescribed herein.
The starting point for the circumstances of "relatively large amount", "substantial amount" and "for illegal activities" with respect to the crime of misappropriation of funds as prescribed in Article 272 of the Criminal Law shall be two times of the standards for amount concerning "relatively large amount", "serious circumstances" and "for illegal activities" involved in the crime of misappropriation of public funds as prescribed herein.
The starting points for the circumstances of "relatively large amount" and "substantial amount" with respect to the crime of offering bribes to a non-state functionary as prescribed in Paragraph 1 of Article 164 of the Criminal Law, shall be two times of the standards for amount involved in the crime of offering bribes as prescribed in Item 1 of Article 7 and Article 8 hereof.

Article 12 "Property" referred to in the description of crimes related to bribery include money, articles and property interests. Property interests include material benefits that can be converted into money such as house decoration, exemption of liabilities and others, and other benefits requiring the payment of money such as membership service, travel and others. With respect to such other benefits as mentioned in the preceding sentence, the amount concerned shall be calculated at the amount actually paid or payable.

Article 13 A person who falls under any of the following circumstances shall be deemed as "seeking benefits for others", and shall be subject to the conviction of crime and punishment in accordance with the provisions on the crime of accepting bribes in the Criminal Law if a crime is constituted:
1. who actually seeks or promises to seek benefits for others;
2. who clearly knows that the one offering bribes has specific request; and
3. who had not been requested of anything in his or her performance of duties but afterward accepts other's property based on such performance.
Where a State functionary asks for or accepts property amounting to not less than CNY30,000 from a subordinate or a person administratively related thereby, which may affect his or her performance of functions and powers, he or she may be deemed as having promised to seek benefits for others.

Article 14 A person who may be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years according to the fact and circumstance of his or her crime may be found to have committed a crime with "relatively minor circumstance" as prescribed in Paragraph 2 of Article 390 of the Criminal Law.
Where the a convicted person may be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of ten years or heavier criminal penalty according to the fact and circumstance of the crime, or where the case has great influence in the province, autonomous region, municipality directly under the Central Government concerned or the whole State, it may be deemed as a "major case" as prescribed in Paragraph 2 of Article 390 of the Criminal Law.
A person shall be deemed as "playing a critical role in detecting a major case" as prescribed in Paragraph 2 of Article 390 of the Criminal Law if he or she:
1. voluntarily confesses clues of a major case which are not known by the case handling organ;
2. voluntarily confesses clues that are not clues of a major case but are important for detecting a major case;
3. voluntarily confesses the fact of bribes offering which is important for the collection of evidence for a major case; or
4. voluntarily confesses the fact of bribes offering which is important for the pursuit or recovery for a major case.

Article 15 Where a person accepts bribes repeatedly but goes unpunished, the amount of bribes accepted shall be calculated cumulatively.
Where a State functionary accepts property from the requester repeatedly before seeking benefits for the requester by taking advantage of his or her position, if the property accepted before he or she was so requested amounts to not less than CNY10,000, such amount shall also be included in the calculation of the amount of bribery accepted.

Article 16 Where a State functionary illegally possesses public property or accepts other's property due to his or her intent to commit corruption or accept bribes, and then uses the illicit money or articles for public affairs of the unit where he or she works or for social donations, the determination of the crime of corruption or the crime of accepting bribes shall not be affected but discretionary consideration may be given for sentencing.
Where a person with specific relationship with a State functionary asks for or accepts other's property and such State functionary fails to return or hand in such property after knowing the fact, such State functionary shall be deemed as having the intent to accept bribes.

Article 17 Where a State functionary accepts any other person's property by taking advantage of his or her position so as to seek benefits for such person, if it constitutes both the crime of accepting bribes and the crimes of dereliction of duty as prescribed in Section 3 of Chapter III and Chapter IX of the Criminal Law, the combined punishment for the crime of accepting bribes and the crimes of dereliction of duty shall be cumulative unless otherwise provided in the Criminal Law.

Article 18 All property illegally obtained by a person convicted of committing a crime related to corruption or bribery shall be recovered, or ordered to be refunded or compensated for, and the legitimate property of the victim shall be promptly returned, in accordance with Article 64 of the Criminal Law. Illegal gains that have not been recovered, or fully refunded or compensated for shall continue to be recovered or ordered to be refunded or compensated for.

Article 19 Where a person convicted of committing the crime of corruption or the crime of accepting bribes is sentenced to criminal detention or fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, he or she shall be concurrently sentenced to a fine of not less than CNY100,000 but not more than CNY500,000; where he or she is sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than ten years, he or she shall be concurrently sentenced to a fine of not less than CNY200,000 but not more than two times of the amount involved or to confiscation of property; where he or she is sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than ten years or life imprisonment, he or she shall be concurrently sentenced to a fine of not less than CNY500,000 but not more than two times of the amount concerned or to confiscation of property.
For any other crime relating to corruption or bribery where the person convicted shall be concurrently sentenced to a fine according to the Criminal Law, he or she shall be fined not less than CNY100,000 but not more than two times of the amount involved.

Article 20 This Interpretation shall come into force as of April 18, 2016. In case of any inconsistencies between the Interpretation and any judicial interpretations previously promulgated by the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, this Interpretation shall prevail.