China's top procuratorate cracks down on cybercrime, improves business environment

China's Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) said on Monday that it is committed to cracking down on cybercrime and creating a law-based business environment.

The top procuratorate said the procuratorial organs nationwide approved the arrest of 367,000 suspects of various types of crimes and initiated public prosecutions of 761,000 individuals in the first half of 2024, respectively up 18.5 percent and 6.8 percent year on year.

Among them, a total of 120,000 people were prosecuted for crimes committed through the internet, down 5.5 percent year on year, according to the country's top procuratorate.

Procuratorial organs across the country prosecuted 25,000 people for committing telecom and online fraud and 450,000 people who assisted in information network criminal activities in the first six months of the year, respectively up 44.1 percent and down 25.2 percent year on year, the SPP said.

During the same period, the procuratorial organs prosecuted 620,000 individuals for sabotaging the market economic order, up 36.5 percent year on year, and also prosecuted 5,827 individuals for crimes including embezzlement of funds and bribery, up 41.1 percent year on year, according to the SPP.

Furthermore, 120,000 individuals were prosecuted for financial fraud from January to June, up 7.6 percent year on year, it added. Among them, 7,763 people were prosecuted for the crimes of fundraising fraud and illegally taking in deposits from the public, up 4.1 percent year on year.

The SPP also said procuratorial agencies prosecuted 28,000 people for crimes including intentional homicide and kidnapping, and also 4,655 people for gang-related crimes in the first half of the year.

The procuratorial organs have enhanced their fight against corruption, severely punished crimes that seriously endanger production safety and strengthened judicial protection for minors, the SPP added.

In the first half of this year, 13,000 people were handled for duty-related crimes transferred by supervisory commissions at all levels, and 9,437 people were prosecuted, an increase of 44 percent and 32.6 percent respectively, according to the SPP.

During the same period, 33,000 individuals were prosecuted for crimes against minors and 25,000 minors were prosecuted for serious crimes, the SPP said.

(Cover via CFP)