[Direct answer]The full name of the crime of aiding information network crime activities is stipulated in Article 287 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China. It was added by the Ninth Amendment to the Criminal Law, which came into effect on November 1, 2015. Anyone who, knowing that others are using information networks to commit crimes, still provides them with assistance such as Internet access, server hosting, payment settlement, and advertising promotion, and the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention, and may also be fined or given a single fine. Renting or selling bank cards, phone cards, and payment codes to help others "process payments" is the most common way of involvement in the case. Whether "knowing" and "the circumstances are serious" and the distinction between this crime and other crimes are the core of the defense; after being involved in the case, one should immediately stop the act of assistance, preserve evidence, and hire a lawyer as soon as possible. It is recommended to first understand the relevant legal provisions and seek professional legal advice.Criminal defense and legal services for criminal case filingOr visitBeijing Henglu Law Firm.

I. Problem background and typical scenarios

As the "Cut Off Card" campaign continues to deepen, the crime of aiding and abetting has become one of the most frequently prosecuted charges. High-incidence scenarios include: students and migrant workers being attracted by "high price card collection" ads, selling or renting out their bank cards and phone cards; accepting orders in part-time groups and helping strangers transfer funds through their payment codes to earn "commissions"; using their own names to apply for cards and selling them to money laundering gangs; and company employees illegally opening and lending out corporate accounts. Many people only realize they have been involved in crimes when their accounts are frozen or the police visit them. Common questions include: I just borrowed a card. Can that count as a crime? Will I face a severe punishment for hundreds of thousands of yuan in transaction volume? Can I still fight for non-prosecution even after returning the money? The answers to these questions depend on the degree of knowledge, the severity of the circumstances, and the timing of defense intervention.

II. Key points of contention

  • Determination of "knowing": The crime of aiding and abetting requires that the perpetrator knows that others are using information networks to commit crimes. There is a difference in the level of proof between knowing for sure and inferring knowledge based on abnormal signs. Circumstances such as the transaction price being obviously abnormal and the defendant continuing to provide assistance after being informed will be inferred to indicate knowledge, but this can be refuted by contrary evidence.
  • The threshold of "serious circumstances": It is not a crime to provide help once, but it must meet the standards set by the judicial interpretation, such as the amount of payment and settlement, the amount of illegal income, and the number of recipients of help. Those who fail to meet the standards should be treated as not guilty or subject to administrative punishment.
  • The distinction between these two crimes: Even if it's the same act of "bookkeeping for upstream businesses", premeditated collusion may constitute aiding and abetting fraud, and transferring the proceeds of crime with knowledge may constitute the crime of concealing and hiding the proceeds of crime. The penalties for these two crimes vary greatly, which directly affects the direction of the defense.

III. Professional analysis by Henglue Law Firm

According to the "Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Illegally Using Information Networks and Aiding Information Network Crime Activities" (effective November 1, 2019), the presumption can be made based on circumstances such as knowing that the transaction price is obviously abnormal, still implementing the act after being informed by the regulatory authorities, and providing program tools specifically used for illegal activities. Serious circumstances include providing assistance to more than three targets, payment and settlement amounts exceeding 200,000 yuan, providing funds exceeding 50,000 yuan through methods such as placing advertisements, and illegal gains exceeding 10,000 yuan. The defense focuses on three aspects: first, refuting the presumption of knowledge, for example, if the perpetrator is also a "tool person" who was deceived, evidence such as chat records and fund transfers should be submitted to refute the presumption; second, reviewing the calculation of the amount, with payment and settlement amounts limited to the portion verified as crime-related funds, rather than simply criminalizing all transaction records; third, seeking a reduction in the charge and lenient punishment. For those who plead guilty and accept the punishment, return the illegal gains, and are first-time or occasional offenders, probation or even relative non-prosecution may be sought. In 2021, the "Second Interpretation of the Law Applicable to Handling Criminal Cases of Telecommunications and Network Fraud" issued by the "Three High Courts" further refined the quantitative standards for "two-card"-related cases and the analysis of criminalization and non-criminalization in specific cases, recommending that such cases be referred to the court for trial.Special services and other case servicesTeam evaluation.

IV. Practical suggestions and legal basis

At the legal basis level: Article 287(2) of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China clearly stipulates the constitutive elements of the crime of aiding and abetting and the statutory punishment of fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, or a fine alone. It also stipulates that if the act simultaneously constitutes other crimes, the crime shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the provisions of the more severe punishment; the aforementioned Article 11 and Article 12 of the 2019 judicial interpretation respectively stipulate the presumption of knowing and the standard of serious circumstances; for those who transfer the proceeds of crime afterwards, Article 312 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China on concealing and disguising the proceeds of crime may be applied, and those with particularly serious circumstances shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years. At the practical suggestion level: Ordinary people should stick to the bottom line and not rent, lend, or sell bank cards, phone cards, payment accounts, and payment codes. They should cancel the cards in time when they are discarded; enterprises should standardize the opening of public accounts and the management of employees' cards to prevent the accounts from being used for money laundering. They can combine this with other measures to prevent the accounts from being used for money laundering.Business and contract dispute services for enterprisesImprove internal control; for those who have been involved in the case, entrust a lawyer to meet with them as soon as possible to verify the amount of money involved and the evidence, and evaluate the timing of bail pending trial and pleading guilty and accepting the punishment. It is strictly prohibited to copy the "guidelines" online and deal with the case by oneself.

5. Henglu Law Firm's Reminder

Although the statutory punishment for the crime of aiding and abetting is not severe, the subsequent consequences are not negligible: after being convicted, a criminal record will be left, and the person may be included in the disciplinary list, with restrictions on their accounts and business activities, which will affect their employment, loans, and travel. Henglu Law Firm reminds that "just lending a card to a friend" and "charging a small fee to help with accounting" are not grounds for exemption from liability. As long as the standard of knowing and having serious circumstances is met, it constitutes a crime. The golden window for dealing with the case is in the investigation stage: stop relevant actions as soon as possible, make a truthful statement, return illegal income and cooperate with freezing and stopping payments, so as to create conditions for obtaining lenient punishment in the future; for disputes over the amount of money and the degree of knowing, it is necessary to check the transaction records and evidence item by item with the help of professional lawyers, and conduct a rational defense rather than wait passively.

Q1: If I rent or sell a bank card to someone else, will this constitute the crime of aiding and abetting?

There are real risks involved. If one knowingly sells or rents out bank cards to others for use in cybercrime and cooperates with face-scanning verification, and the funds involved in telecom network fraud and other crimes are verified to exceed 200,000 yuan in payment and settlement amounts, they may be guilty of the crime of aiding and abetting. Even if they do not meet the criminal standards, they may face credit penalties, suspension of non-counter services for bank accounts, and may bear civil liability for the losses of upstream crimes. Never trade a few hundred yuan of "card collection fees" for a criminal record. Those who have already sold or lent out bank cards should contact the bank to stop payments and explain the situation as soon as possible, and hire a lawyer immediately if involved in the case.

Q2: What is the difference between the crime of aiding and abetting and the crime of concealing or disguising the proceeds of crime?

The key difference between the two crimes lies in the act of assistance and the knowledge of the content. The crime of aiding and abetting targets those who provide assistance such as payment and settlement for others to commit crimes through information networks, usually occurring during the process of the upstream crime, with a statutory punishment of up to three years in prison or criminal detention; the crime of concealing and hiding the proceeds of crime (Article 312 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China) targets those who, knowing that the money or its proceeds are from crime, hide, transfer, purchase, or sell them on behalf of others, occurring after the crime has been committed, with a maximum punishment of up to seven years in prison. In practice, cases involving assistance in transferring funds and subsequent cash withdrawals directly affect the sentencing level. Lawyers need to review the evidence timeline, chat records, and fund flows to argue their case and strive for a lighter punishment.

Q3: How is the "payment and settlement amount of more than 200,000 yuan" mentioned by the case-handling authority calculated?

According to the 2019 judicial interpretation, payment settlement is one of the criteria for determining the seriousness of the circumstances, but it does not simply add up all the transactions in the bank card, but should be limited to the part of the funds involved in fraud and other crimes that can be proven by evidence. In practice, there are often disputes, including: the inclusion of legitimate funds such as wages and loans should be excluded; the same amount of funds entering and leaving multiple times should not be counted repeatedly; and the part of the funds chain that is not closed due to the victim's report and lack of sufficient evidence should not be included. During the defense, the lawyer should check the correspondence between the transaction records and the upstream crimes item by item, and put forward cross-examination opinions on the determination of the amount, which often directly affects whether the defendant is guilty or not, and the length of the prison term.

Q4: Is it possible to be sentenced to probation or not prosecuted for the crime of aiding and abetting?

Yes. The statutory punishment for the crime of aiding and abetting is fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention. For defendants who admit guilt and accept punishment, return the illegal proceeds and make restitution, are first-time or occasional offenders, play a minor role in the joint crime, or whose involvement in the case just meets the legal threshold, the proportion of those who are given probation or receive a relative non-prosecution decision in practice is not low. The key points for obtaining leniency are in the investigation and review and prosecution stages: those who surrender themselves promptly or make truthful statements constituting confession or surrender, voluntarily return the illegal proceeds and make up for the losses of the victims, and sign a confession and acceptance of punishment agreement can all be given leniency according to law. Whether to choose to admit guilt and accept punishment, and when to choose it, should be decided by lawyers after evaluating the strength of the evidence, so as to avoid confessing blindly when there are doubts about the facts.

Q5: If my account has been frozen or added to the "card blocking" disciplinary list, how can I apply to have it unblocked?

There are two situations to deal with. For bank cards and payment accounts that have been frozen due to being involved in the case, you should contact the investigating authority to understand the reason for the freeze, submit proof of the legal source of the funds and transaction background materials to apply for the lifting of the freeze; if it has nothing to do with the case, the investigating authority shall lift the freeze in time after verification. For those who have been subject to disciplinary measures resulting in restrictions on opening new accounts and suspension of non-counter business, they can explain the circumstances of being cheated or stolen to the public security organ and submit evidence to apply for review and removal. Throughout the process, keep materials such as bank transaction records, report receipts, and communication records. When necessary, having a lawyer file an appeal and communicate on behalf of you can significantly improve the processing efficiency and avoid the account being restricted for a long time.

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