Chinese Ministry of Public Security holds a special press conference on national bird protection efforts on April 1, 2026. Photo: Ministry of Public Security

The general public and investors have expressed strong indignation toward financial fraud committed by a small number of listed companies, and China's public security authorities will continue to maintain a "zero tolerance" stance toward such crimes and provide "strong protection" for the public and investors, a spokesperson of the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) said on Wednesday at a press conference.

Regarding financial fraud by listed companies, the public security organs have consistently maintained a high-pressure crackdown, the spokesperson said, vowing to carry out an all-round and comprehensive crackdown on all related criminal activities. 

The authorities will severely punish suspected criminal acts by controlling shareholders, actual controllers, and other key personnel of listed companies, as well as thoroughly investigate crimes such as embezzlement of funds and misappropriation of company assets that hollow out businesses. Also, intermediaries and third parties involved in or assisting with the fraud will be subject to "dual investigations in a single case."

As of the end of April, public security authorities across China had resolved 128,000 economic crime cases since 2025, recovering economic losses totaling 37.5 billion yuan ($5.48 billion), according to the ministry.

Meanwhile, Chinese police have arrested more than 880 fugitives who committed economic crimes and fled abroad, including 38 individuals listed as Interpol Red Notice fugitives, said Hua Liebing, director of the economic crime investigation bureau of the MPS, at the press conference. The arrests were made from 2025 to the end of April 2026, under China's "Fox Hunt" operation, a dedicated campaign targeting those fugitives.

The public security authorities also solved more than 1,600 cases and struck more than 100 cross-regional underground banking networks in a crackdown on the use of offshore companies and underground banks to move illicit funds overseas.

During the period, the MPS, together with relevant administrative regulatory departments, carried out a series of operations, including a clustered crackdown on illegal and criminal activities in the financial sector involving "black and gray industry" networks, a special campaign against illegal fundraising, the "United Sword" special campaign against tax-related crimes, a systematic cleanup of prominent problems in the bidding and tendering sector, and a special rectification campaign targeting prominent corruption crimes within private enterprises, Hua noted.

At the press briefing, the MPS also announced a total of 20 typical cases of economic crimes investigated since 2025, involving crimes such as illegal operations, money laundering, currency counterfeiting, insurance fraud, and fraudulent export tax rebates.

In one example, the chairperson and general manager of a company surnamed Ji conspired with the company's financial chief surnamed Yuan, as well as others, to inflate the company's revenues and profits from 2017 to 2022 by deceptive means. The company released false annual reports for six consecutive years, overstating total profits by nearly 8.2 billion yuan, the ministry spokesperson said. 

Global Times