The Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Supreme People's Court and the Ministry of Public Security jointly held a press conference in Beijing on July 26, 2024 to release the Opinions on handling cross-border telecom network fraud and related criminal cases1. The Opinions run to 3 parts and 16 articles, covering overall requirements, application of law, procedural rules, policy and recovery of stolen assets1.
A Ministry of Public Security criminal investigation official said the Opinions resolve legal application and evidence standard problems encountered in such cases, including how to designate a criminal group, how to verify fraud amounts and how to link people to cases1. The document sets four enforcement priorities: criminal groups and their organizers, planners, commanders and core members; organizations that provide shelter to cross-border fraud; crimes committed by such groups including intentional homicide, intentional injury, kidnapping, rape, forced prostitution and unlawful detention; and organizing or transporting people across borders to recruit members for these groups1.
On gang designation, the Opinions state that providing a crime venue, logistics, armed protection or personnel management to control criminal gangs carrying out cross-border fraud or extortion, taking a cut or charging fees, with clear organizers and leaders and fixed or largely fixed core members, meets the criteria in Article 26, paragraph 2 of the Criminal Law and should be found to be a criminal group1. On amounts, where victims and the exact sums defrauded cannot be established, the total may be determined from account transaction records, chat group records and the suspects' or defendants' statements; for a cross-border group, the amount may be converted from the share or fees it takes from the gangs it manages and controls1. Even where an individual's specific amount is unclear, responsibility can be set by their position and role, length of participation, connection to the facts, and factors such as subjective malice and danger to persons1.
The official described four features of cross-border telecom fraud: growing organization, with leaders and core members hiding overseas and luring recruits abroad under the guise of "high salary recruitment"; overseas fraud dens taking a park form, with dozens or even hundreds of active fraud parks in some Southeast Asian countries at peak times, where some parks commit intentional injury, unlawful detention, forced prostitution and rape; constantly upgraded tools including blockchain, virtual currency, AI, remote control and screen sharing; and rapidly renewed fraud scripts tailored to different groups using illegally obtained personal data1. The official added that some groups have grown strong abroad by colluding with local protection forces1.
What it means for players
The Opinions target telecom and network fraud, not gambling itself, but the described parks are the same large-scale compounds that combine fraud and gambling operations in parts of Southeast Asia1. For people in China, the practical effect is that cases involving fraud run from overseas parks can now proceed on group-level amount calculations rather than proof of each individual victim, which the authorities say strengthens prosecution1. The document also directs that recovery of stolen assets run through every stage of criminal proceedings, with accounts, property, vehicles and precious metals subject to inquiry, seizure, attachment and freezing1. Anyone in China considering overseas work offers advertised as high-salary recruitment should note that the authorities describe this as a common recruitment method for fraud parks1. General guidance on recognizing such operations and reporting them is set out in our guide to gambling scams and safety in Asia, and the legal position inside the mainland is covered in Can I gamble in China?.
What happens next
The Opinions took effect with their release on July 26, 20241. The document instructs case-handling agencies to apply the confiscation procedure for illegal gains where financiers, organizers or leaders have fled abroad, so that their assets and other property involved can be recovered1. No further dated steps were reported1.
