67,000 indicted for telecom fraud

More than 67,000 individuals were indicted on the charge of telecom fraud between January and November 2024, an increase of 58.5 percent year-on-year, data released by China's top procuratorate showed on Thursday.

Thanks to a campaign fighting against telecom fraud involving north of Myanmar, a major area that is a breeding ground cross-border scams, over 40,000 suspects have been sent back to China as of November, and some 29,000 of whom have faced prosecution, according to the data.

While intensifying the crackdown on telecom scammers, Chinese prosecutors have clarified that those providing technical, financial and personnel support for fraud activities should also be punished, which signifies the fight against telecom fraud is continuous and comprehensive, said Du Xueyi, an official from the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

Additionally, to prevent the public from being cheated from the start, he noted that prosecutors nationwide have attached greater importance to protecting personal information, with a focus more on safeguarding legitimate rights and interests of key industries and special groups of people, such as juveniles.

Last year, China also stepped up efforts to guarantee financial and food safety. Du cited the data as revealing that from January to November, more than 5,700 people were prosecuted for drug-related crimes, and over 7,200 for food-related offenses.

During the same period, 418 individuals were indicted on the charge involving private equity, of whom, those with manipulation of the securities market, insider trading, and illegal operations of margin trading and selling through private investment funds also increased significantly, he said.

Furthermore, cases involving financial fraud related to listed companies also surged. In particular, from January to November, the number of people prosecuted for the crime of illegal disclosure or non-disclosure of important information increased by 1.2 times compared with the same period of the previous year, he added.