On Thursday, China’s Supreme People’s Court held a press conference to introduce the work of the People’s Courts in legally punishing telecom network fraud and property crimes. Wang Bin, head of the Third Criminal Division of the Supreme Court, stated that from 2021 to 2025, courts nationwide concluded more than 159,000 first-instance telecom network fraud cases, sentencing over 338,000 defendants. At present, telecom network fraud crimes remain frequent and prevalent.
Among these cases, the number of concluded cases and sentenced defendants in 2023 rose by 48.4% and 38.6% year-on-year, respectively. For 2024, these figures were up by 29.4% and 26.7%; and for 2025, up by 1.2% and 4.5%. Wang Bin stated that the growth has obviously slowed, and this positive trend fully demonstrates the phased achievements of judicial authorities’ crackdown and management efforts.
Wang Bin noted that in recent years, telecom network fraud crimes have continued to be high in frequency and multi-faceted in occurrence, displaying new features such as organizational syndicalization, cross-border methods, and complexity in crime forms. The crime situation remains severe and complex, increasingly becoming a global public scourge and a major challenge in worldwide public safety governance. In some cross-border telecom frauds, intentional homicide, willful injury, kidnapping, illegal detention, and human trafficking have also emerged, posing enormous social harm and seriously impacting the public’s sense of well-being and security.
According to the introduction, Chinese courts have resolutely cracked down on ringleaders and key members of cross-border telecom fraud syndicates, as well as those involved in intentional homicide, willful injury, kidnapping, and other violent crimes. By the end of 2025, courts nationwide had concluded over 27,000 first-instance cases involving telecom fraud in northern Myanmar, sentencing over 41,000 repatriated participants. Especially with the widely watched case of the northern Myanmar “Four Families” crime syndicates—cases against the Ming and Bai crime gangs have completed all judicial procedures. 39 individuals were sentenced to life imprisonment or heavier penalties, of which 16 were sentenced to immediate execution of the death penalty. These two major cross-border armed crime groups have been completely dismantled, severely striking the arrogance of domestic and overseas criminals.
In response to the current situation of high-frequency telecom network fraud, Wang Bin stated that courts will focus their crackdowns on ringleaders and key members of crime syndicates, the financial backers of telecom fraud, human smuggling organizers (“snakeheads”), armed organizations providing protection for cross-border telecom scams, as well as those committing intentional homicide, willful injury, kidnapping and other violent crimes during telecom fraud, and those who launder money via cryptocurrency and underground banks. The courts will implement a criminal policy balancing severity and leniency to separate and dissolve criminal elements.
For low-level offenders who played minor roles in the crime group, those coerced or deceived into participating, or those who turned themselves in, actively returned illicit gains, compensated victims, or cooperated in fugitive and illicit-gain recoveries, the courts will implement lenient policies in accordance with the law—thus achieving the goals of differentiation, precision in punishment, and educational rehabilitation.
Wang Bin noted that in recent years, telecom network fraud crimes have continued to be high in frequency and multi-faceted in occurrence, displaying new features such as organizational syndicalization, cross-border methods, and complexity in crime forms. The crime situation remains severe and complex, increasingly becoming a global public scourge and a major challenge in worldwide public safety governance. In some cross-border telecom frauds, intentional homicide, willful injury, kidnapping, illegal detention, and human trafficking have also emerged, posing enormous social harm and seriously impacting the public’s sense of well-being and security.
According to the introduction, Chinese courts have resolutely cracked down on ringleaders and key members of cross-border telecom fraud syndicates, as well as those involved in intentional homicide, willful injury, kidnapping, and other violent crimes. By the end of 2025, courts nationwide had concluded over 27,000 first-instance cases involving telecom fraud in northern Myanmar, sentencing over 41,000 repatriated participants. Especially with the widely watched case of the northern Myanmar “Four Families” crime syndicates—cases against the Ming and Bai crime gangs have completed all judicial procedures. 39 individuals were sentenced to life imprisonment or heavier penalties, of which 16 were sentenced to immediate execution of the death penalty. These two major cross-border armed crime groups have been completely dismantled, severely striking the arrogance of domestic and overseas criminals.
In response to the current situation of high-frequency telecom network fraud, Wang Bin stated that courts will focus their crackdowns on ringleaders and key members of crime syndicates, the financial backers of telecom fraud, human smuggling organizers (“snakeheads”), armed organizations providing protection for cross-border telecom scams, as well as those committing intentional homicide, willful injury, kidnapping and other violent crimes during telecom fraud, and those who launder money via cryptocurrency and underground banks. The courts will implement a criminal policy balancing severity and leniency to separate and dissolve criminal elements.
For low-level offenders who played minor roles in the crime group, those coerced or deceived into participating, or those who turned themselves in, actively returned illicit gains, compensated victims, or cooperated in fugitive and illicit-gain recoveries, the courts will implement lenient policies in accordance with the law—thus achieving the goals of differentiation, precision in punishment, and educational rehabilitation.