Dehehantong held a criminal case salon on "Defense of Commercial Crimes and Responses to Criminal Investigations Involving Corporate Executives"

On June 17, 2025, the Dehe Criminal Case Research Institute, Dehe Shanghai Xingzhi Society, and Dehe Shanghai Enterprise Anti-Fraud and Compliance Business Committee jointly held a criminal case salon titled "Defense of Commercial Crimes and Responses to Criminal Investigations Involving Corporate Executives", which was successfully concluded. Many top criminal defense professionals in Shanghai gathered together. Conduct in-depth discussions on the defense of commercial crimes and the practical response to criminal investigations involving corporate executives. This salon was hosted by Lawyer Zhang Xiangren from Dehehantong Shanghai Law Office.

1. Opening Remarks

Lawyer Chen Muyang, the managing partner of Dehehantong Shanghai Law Office , delivered the opening speech. She pointed out that Dehehantong has always been concerned about the exploration of criminal business and the discussion of academic frontiers, constantly improving the construction level of the criminal lawyer talent pool. In recent years, commercial crimes have shown trends of complexity, technicalization, cross-border involvement and technological advancement. The difficulty in investigation and evidence collection has become the norm. The holding of this seminar has provided a platform for discussion on issues such as providing defense for executives involved in criminal activities and conducting criminal investigations. It is hoped that in the future, there will be more platforms to offer lawyers sufficient space for communication.

2.Topic One: Key Points of Defense in Commercial Crimes

Lawyer Zheng Chen, a senior partner of Dehehantong Shanghai Law Office and the director of the Dehe Shanghai Corporate Anti-Fraud and Compliance Business Committee, pointed out four significant characteristics of commercial crimes. At the level of fact-finding, Lawyer Zheng Chen, drawing on cases such as insurance fraud and illegal land use rights trading, proposed a methodology that combines "extending facts with focusing on facts". She reminded defense lawyers to "prioritize business logic", and a profound understanding of industry characteristics, business models, profit channels, etc., is the key to distinguishing between general violations, administrative violations and criminal offenses. At the level of legal application, Lawyer Zheng Chen put forward the defense viewpoint of minor crimes and adhered to the principle of the unity of legal order, making limited breakthroughs in commercial legal relations. Finally, he summarized and applied the above methodology based on the financing trade cases he handled himself, providing practical suggestions for the defense of commercial crimes.

Wang Guan, a senior partner of Dehehantong Shanghai Law Office and vice president of Dehe Criminal Case Research Institute, has deeply analyzed the core position of "penetrating substantive judgment" in commercial crime defense. He believes that to accurately define commercial crimes, it is necessary to penetrate the complex transaction structure and examine the subject qualifications, the nature and purpose of the behavior in combination with commercial background knowledge (such as the nature of the reserve fund, the essence of equity disputes, etc.). The ultimate goal is to avoid improper criminal criminalization, but it must strictly follow the rules of criminal law interpretation and the principle of the unity of legal order.

Lawyer Chen Shilei, a senior partner of Dehehantong Shanghai Law Office and a member of the supervisory committee of Dehehantong Shanghai Law Office , pointed out that the key to defense is to "act as a translator of business models" : clarify the business logic such as capital increase and share expansion and equity transfer, and explain the essence of the industry to judicial authorities. He proposed that lawyers need to thoroughly understand the logic of the charges, be able to infer the focus of the case from the record, clarify the relationship between criminal law and prerequisite law, such as administrative violations do not equal crimes, and not all commercial conflicts require criminal law intervention.

Lawyer Wang Siwei, the executive director of Shanghai BOHE&HANSEN Law Firm and the director of the Criminal Procedure Law and Criminal Defense Professional Committee of the Shanghai Bar Association, made a comment. He highly affirmed the in-depth sharing and practical value of the guests present on topic One, and supplemented some content from a defense perspective. In the defense of commercial crimes, lawyers need to construct multi-dimensional breakthrough strategies, with a particular focus on "awareness of illegality". Especially in the field of statutory crimes, whether the perpetrator has awareness of illegality directly affects the establishment of criminal intent. In practice, some courts have considered this as a constituent element, providing defense space for the denial of intent. At the same time, it is necessary to insist on conducting a comprehensive evaluation of the constituent facts, pay attention to the core facts, and even more so, be aware of the "marginal areas" that are easily overlooked, and clarify the boundary between corporate responsibility and individual criminal responsibility. At the level of evidence, the characteristics of commercial cases should be well utilized - documentary evidence is relatively complete and has more traces, which reduces some of the risks for lawyers in investigation and evidence collection. However, proactive and standardized evidence collection work remains the key to consolidating the foundation of defense. He pointed out that the weight of "business logic" cannot be ignored. The essential rationality of market rules and business activities affects the determination of the nature of the behavior and can have a more substantive impact on the severity of the sentence.

3.Topic Two: Responses to Criminal Investigations Involving Corporate Executives

Lawyer Xie Yi, a partner of Dehehantong Shanghai Law Office and the chairperson of Dehe Shanghai Xingzhi Society, introduced the differences between the legal services for dealing with criminal investigations involving corporate executives and traditional criminal defense, systematically expounded the specific steps and key points for lawyers to provide consultation, and noted the compliance precautions for lawyers. Through two successful cases she handled herself, she demonstrated the key points of a lawyer's work: during the pre-preparation stage, lawyers should assist in comprehensively sorting out the facts of the case, breaking down the levels of legal risks, and simultaneously guide the client to collect and fix the traces of daily work (such as emails and approval records), thereby constructing an evidence chain for factual restoration. At the same time, dynamically track the investigation trends, predict the shift of the investigation focus, and design alternative settlement plans based on the root cause of the case. Entering the in-process response stage, the core lies in "strategic passive response" - strengthening the psychological construction of the parties involved through simulated interrogation, strictly adhering to the principle of "answering truthfully and briefly, avoiding discussing the nature of the matter, and observing the direction", and verifying each word before signing the record to prevent deviations. Lawyer Xie Yi reminds lawyers of the compliance precautions when providing consultation: Case communication should prioritize the use of seamless face-to-face interviews. During consultation, proactively check for the risks of electronic device recording. At key nodes, solidify the service content through written confirmation to ensure that legal assistance itself does not generate secondary risks.

Tang Minli, a partner at Dacheng Law Offices, believes that the boundary between "taking advantage of one's position" and "taking advantage of one's work", a common point of contention, is the key yardstick for determining responsibility in cases involving senior executives involved in corruption. He analyzed the relationship between "convenience of position" and "convenience of work" from the perspectives of literal interpretation, systematic interpretation and purpose interpretation, and believed that "convenience of work" and convenience of position should be an inclusive relationship. In current practice, the principle of priority of constituent elements in criminal law is followed - taking the nature of the principal act as the anchor point for judgment. When the nature of the behavior conforms to the characteristics of "job convenience" (for example, accepting kickbacks by taking advantage of the purchasing decision-making power), the concept of "job convenience" shall not be generalized. Lawyer Tang Minli pointed out that in the judicial process, precise legal interpretation techniques should be employed to prevent improper criminal crackdown from eroding the normal business operations of enterprises.

Lawyer Lu Xinxin, a senior partner of Dehehantong Shanghai Law Office and a member of the Supervisory committee of Dehehantong Shanghai Law Office, based on his practical experience in handling cases such as embezzlement of duty in the logistics industry, pointed out that the core minefield of criminal risks for enterprise executives often lies in the gray operations of financial management. Lawyers need to be vigilant against the risk of power alienation where some public security organs improperly intervene in economic disputes by using criminal investigation power (such as elevating contract performance disputes to contract fraud), which in essence substitutes criminal means for civil relief.

Lawyer Ding Juntao, the director of the Executive Committee of the Shanghai Office of Zhonglian Law Firm and a member of the Criminal Procedure Law and Criminal Defense Professional Committee of the Shanghai Bar Association, made a comment. He shared that when communicating with senior executives involved in criminal cases, three fundamental logics need to be grasped. The primary principle is to build a solid defense line of "seeking truth from facts" : during the dynamic and unstable period of a case, guide the parties to objectively state the facts rather than fabricate the circumstances. Lawyers should strictly adhere to the boundary of "knowing what to do and what not to do" - they can explain the law through examples but must never induce the expression of facts, and take "true statement" as the safest defense strategy. The core methodology lies in penetrating the commercial surface: abstracting the essence of reusable business models from complex backgrounds such as equity structure and transaction processes (such as distinguishing the legal attributes of capital increase and share expansion from equity transfer), and using concise logic to argue to judicial authorities that the behavior should not be criminalized, achieving the defense effect of "remaining unchanged in the face of all changes". The practical breakthrough point of the case should focus on oral evidence: face up to the weight of confessions in current judicial practice, deeply analyze the formation mechanism of the record, incorporate the evidence collection methods of the public security organs into the response strategy, and seek the defense fulcrum while respecting judicial customs.

Lawyer Pan Shuhong, the director of Shanghai Hengjian Law Firm and the vice president of the 10th and 11th sessions of the Shanghai Bar Association, made a summary and comment. Lawyer Pan Shuhong highly affirmed the innovation and professionalism of this event, and stated that each guest's sharing was a combination of in-depth and extensive professional thinking and practical experience. From the penetrating thinking in commercial defense to the meticulous handling of criminal cases involving senior executives, it demonstrated the professional depth and pragmatic spirit of criminal defense lawyers in Shanghai. Lawyer Pan Shuhong pointed out that this event attracted many young lawyers to participate. Their speeches demonstrated acute insight and outstanding talent in criminal defense, fully expressing their beautiful expectations for the future development of young lawyers and encouraging them to engage more in the criminal defense industry and carve out their own niche. He conducted a profound analysis of the changes in the professional environment in the criminal field over the past decade, pointing out that the current professional environment for criminal lawyers is full of predicaments and challenges, but there are also solutions to break through. Lawyer Pan Shuhong expressed his earnest expectations for the legal community. He stated that professional skills are the foundation for standing firm, and a way of thinking is the key to success. Against the backdrop of a positive criminal law perspective, it is necessary to possess the thinking to penetrate the complex essence of business. He also encouraged lawyers to have a strong inner self, adapt to the environment, and adhere to the principle of "doing things with integrity and being a person with honesty", so as to win respect with efficient and high-quality professional services. He called on criminal defense lawyers that the true breakthrough does not lie in subverting tradition, but in using professional strength to ensure that every case can stand the test of the rule of law standards - this is not only the foundation for criminal defense lawyers to stand firm, but also a glimmer of light for the industry to move forward.

This seminar not only sorted out the professional methodology for commercial crime defense and the criminal response of corporate executives, but also reaffirmed the eternal value of lawyers' professional improvement and professional ethics in the context of changes in the judicial environment. Facing the increasingly complex forms of commercial crimes and investigation methods, in the future, Dehehantong will adhere to the concept of "diligence, craftsmanship, and excellence", join hands with more outstanding criminal defense lawyers, enhance professional skills, and build a solid legal defense line for enterprises and entrepreneurs.