[Direct answer]Criminal charges are generally filed with the public security organ at the place where the crime occurred: the investigation of criminal cases is the responsibility of the public security organ (Article 19 of the Criminal Procedure Law, amended on October 26, 2018), and most crimes such as fraud, extortion, embezzlement, and illegal absorption of public deposits are under the jurisdiction of the public security organ for filing cases; crimes such as illegal detention committed by judicial personnel in abuse of their powers can be reported to the people's procuratorate; and official crimes such as corruption and bribery can be reported to the supervision committee. The receiving organ shall transfer the charges that do not fall within its jurisdiction to the competent organ (Article 110). For more information, please consult the relevant authorities.Criminal defense and legal services for criminal case filingAndBeijing Henglue Law Firm.

I. Problem Background and Typical Scenarios

When victims go to report the case with the relevant materials, they often encounter "passing the buck": some authorities say the evidence is insufficient or it's an economic dispute; some say it's beyond their jurisdiction, and the materials are passed back and forth between departments. There is a clear division of criminal jurisdiction: public security organs handle the vast majority of ordinary criminal offenses; the procuratorate can investigate crimes committed by judicial personnel that infringe citizens' rights and damage judicial fairness; the supervision committee investigates duty-related crimes; and cases such as insult and defamation, and violent interference with marital freedom, which seriously endanger social order, are subject to a combination of public prosecution and private prosecution. Those who meet the conditions can file a private prosecution with the court. Finding the right authority is the first step in filing a case. Finding the wrong authority will only waste time in vain.

II. Key points of dispute

  • Division of departmental jurisdiction: job-related crimes such as corruption and bribery are under the jurisdiction of the Supervision Commission, while crimes committed by judicial personnel can be handled by the Procuratorate, and ordinary crimes are under the jurisdiction of the Public Security Bureau. If the target of the complaint is incorrect, the materials will be transferred or returned, and the progress cannot be tracked.
  • Territorial jurisdiction: Criminal cases are primarily under the jurisdiction of the authorities at the crime scene, with the jurisdiction of the defendant's residence serving as a supplement (a principle established in Article 25 of the Criminal Procedure Law). However, there are often disagreements over the determination of the crime scene in cases of cybercrime and cross-regional crimes.
  • Defence against "economic disputes": The public security organ often refuses to accept the case on the grounds of the intersection of civil and criminal law. It is necessary to use evidence of the flow of funds and fictitious facts to prove the criminal nature of the case, and, if necessary, to promote it through reconsideration and procuratorial supervision.

III. Professional analysis by Henglue Lawyers

Since 2014, Wang Zhiqiang established the Shanxi branch of a certain wealth management company without a financial license. Using financial products such as "B Equity Investment Fund" and "XX Dividend" as bait, he promoted "low risk and high return" to the general public, especially the elderly, and signed agreements to attract funds under the guise of creditor transfer. By 2019, the company had illegally absorbed more than 190 million yuan in public deposits and victimized over 3,000 people. Liu Dashan was introduced to the company by Liu Shufen, a department manager, and invested over 500,000 yuan of his life savings. Starting from 2019, the company delayed repayments. In 2020, the company's capital chain broke down and the responsible person "disappeared". Liu Shufen and her husband even turned hostile and threatened Liu Dashan with a kitchen knife. At the end of 2024, Liu Dashan entrusted attorney Yuan Hang of Henglu Law Firm to file a criminal complaint on his behalf.

Attorney Yuan Hang determined that the case should be reported to the public security organ for the crimes of illegally absorbing public deposits and fraud. He immediately collected four types of evidence, including ID cards, contract agreements, WeChat and bank transaction records, and photos of the company's business address, and drafted a "Criminal Complaint Letter" to demonstrate that the involved company, which lacked a financial license, illegally absorbed funds and met the four elements of "illegality, publicity, inducement, and social harm" (Article 176 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China). He also argued that Liu Shufen and her husband fraudulently obtained funds by fabricating facts (Article 266), and put forward three prosecution requests: to investigate the company and Wang Zhiqiang for the crime of illegally absorbing public deposits, to investigate Liu Shufen and her husband for the crime of fraud, and to order the return of more than 500,000 yuan. The attorney accompanied the client to submit the materials, pointing out that the POS machine swipe-card transactions directly went into the company's account, and the more than 3,000 investors far exceeded the scope of specific targets. He communicated with the public security organ multiple times and submitted supplementary evidence. Subsequently, the county public security bureau officially initiated an investigation and included the company and Wang Zhiqiang's suspected crime of illegally absorbing public deposits and Liu Shufen and her husband's suspected crime of fraud in the scope of the investigation. In June 2025, the county public security bureau issued an official notice, requiring unreported victims to submit evidence and ordering the involved personnel to refund their illegal gains. This case demonstrates that the path of reporting collective-type economic crimes to the public security organ is feasible, and the key lies in the evidence chain and the argumentation of the crime charges.

IV. Practical suggestions and legal basis

At the legal basis level: Article 19 of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China (amended on October 26, 2018) stipulates that the investigation of criminal cases is the responsibility of the public security organ, except as otherwise provided by law. Judicial personnel who commit crimes such as illegal detention and extortion of confessions by torture to infringe upon citizens' rights and damage judicial fairness may be investigated by the procuratorate. Article 25 establishes the principle of jurisdiction based on the location of the crime; Article 110 stipulates that the public security organ, the procuratorate, and the court shall accept reports, complaints, and denunciations, and transfer those that do not fall within their jurisdiction to the competent authority and notify the complainant; Article 112 stipulates the review and filing of cases. Article 176 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China (amended on March 14, 1997) stipulates the crime of illegally absorbing public deposits, and Article 266 stipulates the crime of fraud. At the practical advice level: For ordinary crimes, report to the public security organ at the location of the crime. If you are unsure about the jurisdiction, you can list the main facts of the crime in the complaint, and the receiving organ will transfer it. For crimes involving official duties, report to the supervision committee, and for crimes involving the powers of judicial personnel, report to the procuratorate. If the same facts are reported to multiple organs, keep the receipt certificates of each organ to facilitate tracking. For the recovery of illicit gains and execution, you can combine them with other legal procedures.Creditor-debtor relations and enforcement case servicesCoordinate and arrange everything in an organized manner.

5. Henglue Law Firm's Advice

The choice of which authority to report the case to essentially involves the issue of case classification: if the classification is accurate, the jurisdiction will naturally be clear. When the report is rejected, don't keep arguing with the same authority repeatedly. First, determine whether you've chosen the wrong authority or whether the case was rejected on the grounds of "economic disputes". Then decide whether to supplement the evidence, request a review, or seek supervision from the procuratorate. The above-mentioned case of accusing someone of illegal fund-raising involving 1.9 billion yuan was handled by Beijing Henglu Law Firm.Yuan HangThe lawyer (practice license number: 11101202110286151, subject to the document issued by the judicial administrative organ) acts on behalf of the client. The public security organ officially filed a case and issued an official notice in June 2025 ordering the return of the funds. If you are unsure about the prosecution path or if the materials have been returned, it is recommended to consult a criminal law specialist as soon as possible for a reassessment.

Q1: What is the difference between reporting a case, lodging a complaint, and making a report?

All three are ways to initiate criminal proceedings, but they involve different subjects and perspectives: reporting a case refers to units or individuals who discover criminal facts and report them to authorities, not necessarily targeting specific suspects; lodging a complaint means that victims report criminal facts that infringe their personal and property rights to authorities and demand accountability. The victim's position makes their evidence and claims more focused; and reporting a tip means that third parties who have no direct interest in the case provide clues about crimes. According to Article 110 of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, all three can be submitted in writing or orally, and authorities are obliged to accept them. When victims lodge a complaint, they can request a receipt, which is convenient for tracking the progress of case filing and exercising rights such as reconsideration and procuratorial supervision in the future.

Q2: Who should I report bribery and corruption to?

State employees suspected of violating their duties and committing crimes such as corruption, bribery, dereliction of duty, and abuse of power to infringe on citizens' rights may be reported to the Supervision Commission. The supervision organ shall investigate and handle the case according to the division of jurisdiction, and transfer the case to the procuratorial organ for review and prosecution if it is suspected of a crime. For crimes committed by judicial personnel, such as illegal detention, torture to extract confessions, and illegal searches that infringe on citizens' rights and damage judicial fairness, the People's Procuratorate may initiate an investigation according to Article 19 of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China. When reporting, it is recommended to provide as much information as possible about the position of the person being reported, the timeline of the facts, and evidence clues. For reports made under real names, the progress of the handling can be tracked more easily. The supervision organ is obliged to keep the information of the reporters confidential.

Q3: Can I entrust a lawyer to file a criminal complaint on my behalf?

Yes. Lawyers can assist victims in organizing evidence, drafting the "Criminal Complaint" and "Evidence List", accompanying them to report the case and communicating with the handling department about the relevance of the evidence. For major and complex cases, lawyers can also submit supplementary evidence and legal opinions to continuously promote the progress of the case. The value of lawyer's representation lies in organizing scattered materials into an evidence chain that meets the standards for case filing and review, and accurately determining the crime name and selecting a jurisdictional authority. The aforementioned case of illegally absorbing public deposits worth 190 million yuan was fully represented by lawyers, which ultimately led to the public security organ's decision to file a case for investigation and issue a notice ordering the return of the funds. The entrusted agency should sign a written contract, clearly defining the scope of the agency's duties and authority, as well as the fee arrangement.

Q4: The public security authority said that they won't handle economic disputes. What should I do in this situation?

First, strengthen the evidence of criminal nature: around the purpose of illegal possession, organize materials such as the other party's fabrication of facts, abnormal flow of funds, squandering and transferring of funds, and going missing to evade responsibility, and reframe the civil appearance of "not repaying debts" into the fact of "fraud in the name of lending"; for cases involving threats to extort money, provide records of intimidation to prove extortion. There are three procedural paths: request the public security organ to issue a written notice of refusal to accept or refuse to initiate a case; apply for a review to the higher-level public security organ with the notice; and apply to the procuratorate for case filing supervision in accordance with Article 113 of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, requiring the public security organ to explain the reasons for refusing to initiate a case. If necessary, entrust a lawyer to reorganize the charging materials and submit them again.

Q5: If the crime occurs in a different location, can I report it locally?

Generally, a report should be made to the public security organ at the crime scene, which includes the place where the crime occurred and the place where the crime result occurred. In cross-regional cases such as online fraud and illegal absorption of public deposits, the place where the victim is located is usually identified as the place where the crime result occurred, which serves as a jurisdictional connection point. According to the jurisdictional principle of the crime scene established in Article 25 of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, if multiple places have jurisdiction, the organ that accepts the case first shall handle it. If necessary, it shall transfer the case to the main crime scene. If unsure, the victim can first report the case to the local public security organ. According to Article 110, the organ that does not have jurisdiction over the case shall transfer it to the competent organ and notify the complainant, and at the same time keep the receipt for easy tracking of the progress.

If you are facing similar problems, it is recommended that you consult a professional lawyer as soon as possible with the evidence materials, so as to avoid missing the statutory time limit. →Criminal defense legal services·Attorney Yuan Hang·Beijing Henglu Law Firm