[Direct answer]In the Beijing area, the assessment of corporate criminal risks focuses on the potential triggering of criminal liabilities throughout the entire business chain of an enterprise, from its establishment and operation to its exit, with key areas including: decision-making and execution of corporate crimes, financial and tax compliance, financing and fund-raising, commercial bribery and kickbacks, intellectual property protection, safety production and environmental protection, data and personal information processing, and labor employment. According to Articles 30 and 31 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, corporate entities that commit acts harmful to society may be deemed to have committed corporate crimes, and the enterprise will be fined and its directly responsible personnel will be sentenced to criminal punishment. It is recommended that enterprises regularly conduct criminal compliance checkups, identify high-risk areas and implement corrective measures in advance. When necessary, they may entrust professional lawyers to provide risk assessments and compliance solutions. For more details, please refer to the following document:Criminal defense and legal services for criminal case filing.

1. Problem background and typical scenarios

In business operations, criminal risks often lurk in daily business processes, rather than only manifesting themselves when something goes wrong. Typical scenarios include: offering bribes to relevant personnel to secure orders, which crosses the red line of commercial bribery; collecting funds through employees or related accounts and soliciting funds from the general public, which constitutes illegal public deposit-taking; neglecting safety hazards in production operations, leading to major liability accidents; illegally collecting and selling customer data and employee personal information; and being involved in issues such as contract fraud and false invoicing in transactions with upstream and downstream partners. Many business leaders only realize that certain industry practices have crossed the criminal threshold when they are formally investigated by the police. Such risks are characterized by their high concealment, rapid transmission, and wide-ranging implications. Once they erupt, they often pose a threat to both enterprises and individuals at the same time.

II. Key points of contention

  • The distinction between corporate crimes and crimes committed by natural persons: Whether the responsibility for the same act lies with the corporate entity or with the individual depends on whether it reflects the corporate entity's will and whether it benefits the corporate entity, which directly relates to the subject of responsibility and sentencing.
  • Identification of high-risk links: Financial taxation, financing and fundraising, procurement and sales, safe production, data processing, etc. are the most prone to accumulate criminal liabilities. Enterprises often neglect pre-review due to prioritizing business over compliance.
  • Criminal incentives for compliance rectification: Whether a compliance system is established and effectively implemented affects the determination of responsibilities and the scope of leniency, but formalized compliance is difficult to truly prevent risks.

III. Professional analysis by Henglue Lawyers

Henglue Lawyers observed in providing criminal legal services to enterprises and clients that criminal risks may come from either proactive illegal activities or sudden, uncontrollable criminal incidents in the workplace. Taking a work conflict at a construction mixing station as an example: Due to a dispute over construction quality, one party lost control of their emotions and drove a vehicle into the work site, resulting in serious consequences of one death and two injuries. The victims' families entrusted lawyers to represent them in criminal and civil litigation. Through in-depth review of the case files, the lawyers argued one by one regarding the perpetrator's subjective intent, whether the act of voluntary surrender constituted a crime, and the classification of the crime (the distinction between intentional homicide and endangering public safety by dangerous methods). Ultimately, the court sentenced the defendant to death for intentional homicide. This case reminds enterprises that interpersonal conflicts in the workplace, if lacking guidance and institutional constraints, may escalate rapidly into major criminal cases. In addition to paying attention to proactive legal risks, enterprises should also prepare legal response plans for sudden criminal crises. The involvement of professional lawyers in reviewing case files, determining the nature of the crime, and intervening in civil litigation directly affects the outcome of responsibility determination and rights protection.

IV. Practical suggestions and legal basis

At the legal basis level: Article 30 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China (the current version after the implementation of the Eleventh Amendment to the Criminal Law in 2021) stipulates that if a company, enterprise, institution, government agency, or organization commits acts that endanger society and are defined by law as corporate crimes, it shall bear criminal responsibility. Article 31 stipulates that if a unit commits a crime, the unit shall be fined, and the directly responsible person in charge and other directly responsible personnel shall be sentenced to criminal punishment. Articles such as Article 231 and others specify the subject of corporate crime for some economic crimes; Articles 140 to 148, Article 205 (fraudulent issuance of VAT invoices), and Article 389 (bribery) are all frequently involved in criminal provisions for enterprises. At the practical advice level: Enterprises can conduct inspections along five lines: decision-making, finance, business, personnel, and data, with a focus on reviewing whether financing and fundraising are targeted at the general public, whether there is commercial bribery in procurement and sales, whether tax invoices are true and compliant, whether safety production systems are implemented, and whether personal information processing is authorized. For high-risk links, establish approval and traceability mechanisms, and regularly conduct criminal compliance checkups and training by external lawyers.

5. Henglu Law Firm's Advice

The essence of corporate criminal risk prevention is to shift from post-event fire-fighting to pre-event inspection. A truly effective assessment is not just issuing a report, but identifying high-risk actions in the business chain and providing corresponding enforceable compliance processes. When a sudden criminal case has occurred, it is equally important to promptly entrust lawyers to review the case files, determine the nature of the case, and handle related civil litigation, which ultimately affects the responsibility of the enterprise and relevant personnel. This case was handled by Beijing Henglu Law Firm.Liu LiqiangThe lawyer (practice license number: 11101200910454358, subject to the document issued by the judicial administrative organ) acts on behalf of the client, relying on relevant adjudication rules such as intentional homicide, to clarify the boundaries of responsibility for the client and safeguard their legitimate rights and interests.

VI. Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: Which business processes of an enterprise are most likely to trigger criminal risks?

From a practical perspective, the most likely triggering of criminal liability focuses on five aspects: financing and fundraising, which may violate the crime of illegally absorbing public deposits if funds are raised from the general public; financial and taxation, which include crimes such as forging invoices, tax evasion, and concealing or destroying accounting vouchers; commercial transactions, which may constitute bribery or bribery of non-state employees if bribes are offered or kickbacks are accepted to facilitate transactions; production and operation, which highlights risks such as safety production accidents, environmental pollution, and the production and sale of substandard products; and data and personnel, which involve the illegal collection and sale of personal information and the refusal to pay labor remuneration. Enterprises should prioritize compliance reviews in these areas, establish pre-approval and traceability mechanisms, and refer to relevant disputes for reference.Business and contract dispute services for enterprisesThe risk isolation concept in it.

Q2: How to distinguish between corporate crimes and individual crimes, and who should bear the responsibility?

According to Articles 30 and 31 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, corporate crimes require the manifestation of the corporate will and the pursuit of benefits for the corporate entity. The corporate entity shall bear legal responsibility (fines) and the directly responsible person in charge and other directly responsible personnel shall be sentenced to criminal punishment. If the acts are purely the result of individual decisions and are for personal gain, they shall be treated as crimes committed by natural persons. When making the distinction, the focus should be on whether the decision-making process of the corporate entity was followed, whether the benefits accrued to the corporate entity, whether the funds were deposited into the corporate entity's account, and whether the acts were carried out in the name of the corporate entity. In practice, cases where the corporate entity is nominally owned by the company but actually controlled by individuals may still be considered crimes committed by natural persons. The attribution of responsibility under subcontracting and contracted operations should be determined based on the authorization and flow of benefits. Clearly defining the boundaries of the subject directly affects the liability of the corporate property and senior executives.

Q3: What are the main items checked during a criminal compliance audit for enterprises?

Compliance inspections typically proceed item by item along the business chain: first, decision-making authorization, checking whether major matters have undergone collective decision-making and left written records; second, fund flow, verifying whether there are off-book cycles, fundraising from unspecified parties, or abnormally large-scale transactions; third, transaction models, reviewing whether rebates and kickbacks in procurement and sales are compliant, and whether contracts are authentic; fourth, invoices and taxation, verifying whether input and output items match and whether there is false invoicing; fifth, safety production and environmental protection, checking whether systems, training, and inspection records have been implemented; sixth, data and personal information processing, confirming whether collection and use have been authorized. The results of the inspection should be a risk map with a rectification list, rather than a general discussion. If necessary, it should be combined with other relevant information.Special services and other case-related servicesDevelop a special rectification plan.

Q4: If an employee is found to be involved in a criminal offense, what should the company do?

First, stop the business process and secure relevant evidence to avoid the evidence being lost or being deemed as the company's tolerance; second, distinguish whether it is an employee's personal behavior or a representative of the company's behavior, and, if necessary, have the legal department or external lawyers issue a written judgment; third, for those who are indeed guilty of personal violations, the company should promptly cooperate with the judicial authorities to explain the situation, disassociate the company from responsibility, and improve internal accountability; for those who may implicate the company, the company should hire lawyers as soon as possible to assess the company's criminal risks and prepare compliance and rectification proof materials to strive for leniency. It is strictly prohibited to destroy or forge evidence to cover up problems, otherwise the company may also be dragged into crimes. The entire process of handling the matter should be fully documented, which will serve as the basis for subsequent responsibility allocation.

Q5: What are the practical benefits for enterprises to hire lawyers to conduct criminal risk assessments?

First, pre-identification identifies high-risk actions hidden in business processes, enabling rectification before incidents occur and avoiding consequences requiring legal prosecution. Second, responsibility isolation clarifies the boundaries of corporate and individual actions, reducing the risk of executives being held personally accountable. Third, accelerated response allows lawyers to quickly intervene in case review, legal classification, and ancillary civil litigation once criminal cases arise, shortening the response cycle. Fourth, regulatory endorsement ensures that well-developed systems and legal opinions can serve as evidence of mitigating circumstances during liability determination. Compared with post-defense, pre-audit is more cost-effective, allowing enterprises to address potential risks proactively rather than reactively.Beijing Henglu Law FirmFirst, understand the scope of criminal compliance services, and then tailor a solution specifically for your own industry.

The above answer is based on the judicial practice in Beijing. The judicial interpretations in other provinces and cities may vary. For specific cases, please refer to the local rules and evidence situation.

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