Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning the Specific Application of the Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Fraud

Fa Shi [2011] No. 7

March 1, 2011

The Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning the Specific Application of the Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Fraud adopted at the 1512th Meeting of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People's Court on February 21, 2011 and the 49th Meeting of the 11th Procuratorial Committee of the Supreme People's Procuratorate on November 24, 2010 is hereby promulgated and effective as of April 8, 2011.

With a view to punishing criminal activities of fraud in accordance with the law and protecting the ownership of public and private property pursuant to the relevant provisions of the Criminal Law and the Criminal Procedure Law in light of the need for judicial practice, the interpretation on several issues concerning the specific application of the law in handling criminal cases of fraud is hereby rendered as follows:

Article 1 Any public and private property fraud that values from RMB 3,000 to more than RMB 10,000, RMB 30,000 to more than RMB 100,000, and more than RMB 50,000 shall be deemed to be "a relatively large amount", "a huge amount" and "an exceptionally huge amount" respectively as prescribed in Article 266 of the Criminal Law.
The Higher People's Courts and People's Procuratorates of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government may take into account the economic and social development conditions of the locality and jointly study and determine the thresholds of the specific amounts to be implemented in the locality within the range prescribed in the preceding paragraph, and report to the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate for record filing.


Article 2 Where any public and private property fraud reaches the threshold amounts prescribed in Article 1 hereof, serious punishment may be imposed at discretion in accordance with Article 266 of the Criminal Law in any of the following circumstances:
1. Dissemination of false information by means of short message or telephone, or the Internet, television broadcasting or newspapers and magazines to practice fraud to a majority of people non-specifically;
2. Fraud of money and goods in kind for disaster, emergency, flooding, special care, poverty, immigration, relief or medicine;
3. Practice fraud in the disguise of fund-raising for disaster relief;
4. Fraud of property of the disabled, the elderly or the incapacitated; or
5. The victim has committed suicide, gone insane or any other serious consequences.
Where the amount of fraud is close to the thresholds of "a huge amount" or "an exceptionally huge amount" as prescribed in Article 1 hereof, and in any of the circumstances prescribed in the preceding paragraph or a ringleader of a fraud syndicate, it shall be deemed to be "other serious circumstances" or "other exceptionally serious circumstances" as prescribed in Article 266 of the Criminal Law.

Article 3 Where any public and private property fraud has reached the threshold of "a huge amount" as prescribed in Article 1 hereof, no prosecution may be initiated or criminal penalty is waived in accordance with Article 37 of the Criminal Law and Article 142 of the Criminal Procedure Law in any of the following circumstances and where the person that has committed the act pleads guilty or feels remorse:
1. In the circumstances where leniency in punishment is allowed lawfully;
2. Where all stolen money or goods are returned before the verdict of first instance;
3. No participation in distribution of stolen money or goods or the stolen money or goods obtained are few and the person is not the main culprit;
4. The victim shows understanding to the act; or
5. In other less serious or less hazardous circumstances.

Article 4 Where there is a fraud of the property of close relatives with the understanding thereof, it may not be dealt with as crime in general.
Where criminal liability must be pursued for fraud of property of close relatives, discretionary leniency shall be exercised in specific handling.

Article 5 Any attempted fraud targeted at a huge amount of property or in other serious circumstances shall be subject to conviction and penalty.
Where a fraud is practiced to a majority of people non-specifically by means of short message, telephone, the Internet or other means of telecommunications technology, and it is difficult to ascertain the fraud amount but falls under any of the following circumstances, it shall be deemed to be "other serious circumstances" as prescribed in Article 266 of the Criminal Law and subject to conviction and penalty for the offence of (attempted) fraud:
1. More than 5000 fraud messages;
2. More than 500 fraud telephone calls; or
3. Fraud tactics by unscrupulous means with serious hazards.
Where the act prescribed in the preceding paragraph is committed and the amount involved reaches more than 10 times of the thresholds prescribed in Item (1) or (2) of the preceding paragraph, or the fraud tactics are exceptionally unscrupulous or the hazards are exceptionally serious, it shall be deemed to be "other exceptionally serious circumstances" as prescribed in Article 266 of the Criminal Law and subject to conviction and penalty for the offence of (attempted) fraud.

Article 6 Frauds may be attempted and successful or attempted but failed, where different degrees of sentencing are reached, penalty shall be imposed in accordance with the provisions on heavier penalty; where the same degree of sentencing is reached, penalty shall be imposed on the offence of fraud.


Article 7 Where the offence of fraud is practiced knowingly with the aid of provision of credit card, SIM card, communications device, communications transmission channel, network technology support, and fee settlement, it shall be deemed to be a joint offence.

Article 8 Where the offence of fraud is practiced in disguise of personnel of state authorities, and the offences of fraud and swindle are both committed, it shall be subject to conviction and penalty in accordance with the provisions on heavier penalty.

Article 9 The fraud property that is sealed up, detained or frozen after the case and the yield thereof with specific ownership shall be returned to the victim; where the ownership is unspecific, the money and goods subject to fraud shall be returned to the victim in proportion to the total amount of the property that is sealed up, detained or frozen, but the amount already returned shall be deducted.

Article 10 Where the person that has committed the act has used the fraud property for debt settlement or transfer to others, a claim shall be made in accordance with the law in any of the following circumstances:
1. The other party knowingly obtains the fraud property;
2. The other party obtains the fraud property without consideration;
3. The other party obtains the fraud property at a price obviously lower than the market price;
4. The other party obtains the fraud property due to illegal debt or illegal criminal activities.
Where the fraud property is obtained bona fide, no claim shall be made.

Article 11 Where any judicial interpretations promulgated earlier are inconsistent with this Interpretation, this Interpretation shall prevail.