In litigation and enforcement, report assets truthfully instead of transferring them to relatives or companies

No fee for complying. Report current assets and those held during the year before receipt of the enforcement notice, as the court requires. Pay what you can. If unable to pay in full, discuss a settlement or installments with the creditor seeking enforcement.

The National People’s Congress Standing Committee’s interpretation of Criminal Law Article 313 expressly includes hiding, transferring, deliberately destroying, giving away, or selling assets at an obviously unreasonable low price so that a judgment cannot be enforced. The 2024 joint judicial interpretation adds ten specified situations, including sham settlements or transfers, paying an obviously unreasonable high price for someone else’s property, and guaranteeing another person’s debt to hollow out assets available to creditors. The basic offense carries up to three years; especially serious cases carry three to seven years and a fine. Examples include sham litigation, arbitration, or notarization obstructing enforcement; crowd attacks on enforcement sites; surrounding, detaining, or assaulting enforcement staff; and refusal that causes a claimant’s suicide or self-harm. Non-parties knowingly colluding to conceal or transfer assets can be accomplices. Unlawfully disposed assets may be recovered or restitution ordered. Transfers after receipt of the notice to respond to a lawsuit but before the judgment becomes effective can also be covered. Civilly, creditors may seek revocation of gifts or obviously undervalued transfers affecting their rights. Refusal to report assets or false reporting can lead to an individual fine up to RMB 100,000 or detention up to 15 days. The joint interpretation took effect in December 2024.

Online suggestions to label a home “company staff housing” or transfer all money to relatives can fall directly within prohibited sham transfers or gifts. Knowing helpers may share liability and the assets remain recoverable. Genuine poverty is not the offense: necessary living expenses for you and your dependants must be considered when assessing ability to comply. Payment in whole or part before prosecution, with minor circumstances, may support non-prosecution; payment before first-instance judgment may support leniency or exemption. For restrictions and listing decisions, see the next entry. For rebuilding afterward, see removal and recovery procedures.

Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (2002). Interpretation of Criminal Law Article 313. https://www.gov.cn/gongbao/content/2002/content_61738.htm; Supreme People’s Court and Supreme People’s Procuratorate (2024). Interpretation on refusal to enforce judgments and rulings, Judicial Interpretation 2024 No. 13, Articles 3–6, 8, 11, and 12; official release and full-text repost by Guangzhou Prison. https://www.court.gov.cn/fabu/xiangqing/447931.html, http://gzjy.gd.gov.cn/zxxx/content/post_4608108.html; Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (2015). Criminal Law Amendment IX, Article 39, amending Article 313. https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/fl/201802/t20180205_364562.shtml; National People’s Congress (2020). Civil Code, Articles 538–540. https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/fl/202006/t20200602_463888.shtml; Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (amended 2023). Civil Procedure Law, Articles 114, 118, and 252, reposted by Guizhou’s market-regulation authority. https://amr.guizhou.gov.cn/zwgk/xxgkml/jcxxgk/zcfg/fl/202401/t20240129_83645867.html.