The first instance verdict of the illegal absorption of public deposits by Gao and others, former chairman of Zhongzhi Enterprise Group Co., Ltd.

On December 23rd, the Beijing First Intermediate People's Court publicly sentenced the first group of managers from the China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina) who were prosecuted by the Beijing People's Procuratorate First Branch for the crime of illegal absorption of public deposits. The former chairman of ChemChina Group, Gao, and others were sentenced to imprisonment ranging from fourteen years to four years and six months for the crime of illegal absorption of public deposits, in addition to fines. The Beijing First Intermediate People's Court found that Gao and the others, as senior management and other directly responsible personnel of ChemChina Group, violated the country's financial management laws by illegally absorbing public deposits, disturbing financial order, and thus committing the crime of illegal absorption of public deposits. The court made the above judgment based on the facts, nature, circumstances, and level of harm to society of each defendant's crime. Relatives of the defendants, some participants in the fundraising, and members of the community attended the public sentencing. After the case was reported, the public security authorities made efforts to recover the assets involved in the case. The work of recovering the proceeds of crime is still ongoing.