Judicial oversight campaign tackles improper enforcement against businesses

Procuratorial authorities nationwide handled more than 19,000 cases involving improper cross-regional law enforcement and profit-driven enforcement actions against enterprises between March 2025 and the end of the year, according to figures released Monday by the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP). Since March, the SPP has launched a nationwide judicial oversight campaign aimed at correcting irregular cross-regional enforcement and enforcement practices driven by improper financial incentives. The campaign focuses on addressing prominent law enforcement and judicial problems that harm the legitimate rights and interests of businesses and disrupt fair market competition.

As part of the initiative, procuratorial authorities handled more than 9,700 business-related criminal litigation supervision cases, targeting issues such as wrongful case filings, failure to file cases that should have been pursued, and prolonged or improper handling of business-related cases. Ge Xiaoyan, deputy procurator-general of the SPP, said that procuratorial authorities treat all market entities equally, regardless of ownership structure. She emphasized that businesses are guaranteed equal access to production factors, fair participation in market competition, and equal protection under the law. Acts infringing upon the property rights and lawful interests of businesses are subject to the same standards of accountability and punishment, she said.

The campaign has placed particular emphasis on correcting illegal cross-regional arrests, improper handling of cases outside jurisdiction, and the misuse of criminal procedures in business-related cases. Authorities have strengthened reviews of jurisdiction in criminal cases involving enterprises to promote standardized and lawful enforcement. According to the SPP, supervision efforts led to the withdrawal of criminal cases involving more than 3,000 individuals, while non-prosecution decisions were made for over 3,500 individuals.

Procuratorial authorities also stepped up oversight of unlawful asset seizures, detentions, and freezes that exceeded statutory authority, scope, value, or time limits. Supervision was strengthened over the improper use of coercive measures against individuals involved in business-related cases. As a result, authorities supervised the lifting or return of more than 26 billion yuan (about $3.6 billion) in illegally seized, detained, or frozen assets, and oversaw lawful changes to coercive measures for more than 820 individuals.

In addition, procuratorial authorities worked to prevent prolonged inaction in business-related criminal cases, clearing more than 4,300 long-pending cases. Efforts were also made to clearly distinguish economic disputes from criminal offenses, correcting more than 210 cases in which criminal procedures were improperly used to intervene in civil economic disputes.