Officials warned about illegal fundraising

Officials were strongly admonished to strictly follow financial laws, and to follow up on wrongdoing, in a guideline released on Wednesday by the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the Ministry of Public Security.

They were also reminded that failure to enforce the law could bring punishment.

Xian Jie, deputy director at the SPP's law and policy research department, said illegal fundraising activities have continued to grow in recent years, as has the amount of money involved. Online transactions are a common channel for crimes, as they may masquerade as emerging financial services, such as peer-to-peer lending, wealth management, private equity or virtual currency.