Chinese prosecutors back leniency for entrepreneurs tangled up in graft cases
Guidelines meant to calm jittery businesspeople and benefit the economy, veteran lawyer says
The Chinese justice system should show some leniency to businesspeople forced to give bribes to officials, the top prosecutor’s office has said in new guidelines to fortify the country’s entrepreneurs.
But the Supreme People’s Procuratorate also warned there would be severe consequences for businesspeople who went out of their way to offer bribes to corrupt officials to cultivate political influence.
The guidelines follow Chinese President Xi Jinping’s push to encourage and protect entrepreneurship, and his repeated warnings to officials against the dangers of corrupt business interests.
Under the guidelines, all prosecutor’s offices had to foster an environment for entrepreneurs and their businesses, “strengthening their sense of personal and wealth security, and boosting confidence and providing incentives for businesspeople to innovate and start businesses”, the official Procuratorate Daily quoted a spokesman for the top prosecutor’s office as saying on Wednesday.
Prosecutors should consider whether a businessperson sought out an illegal benefit and whether he or she actively cooperated with graft investigations, according to the guidelines.
Prosecutors are also advised to avoid impinging on commercial operations while the owner of the business is under investigation.