Li Xiaohua Law Firm defends 161 million yuan corruption case, court ruling nearly 130 million yuan cannot be established

By Lixiaohua lawyer, Shanghai Lixiaohua Lawfirm

Case studies in the field of commercial crime

1. Basic facts

The indictment of the First Branch of Shanghai Procuratorate states that the defendant W was the former general manager of H Company at that time. During the company's transformation process, he took advantage of his position and did not use the A, B, and C plots (totaling over 3400 acres) under the original company name as conversion assets, illegally occupying the transfer income of the aforementioned plots. Corrupt state-owned assets of over 161 million yuan.

2.Related laws and regulations

Article 383 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China stipulates that those who commit the crime of corruption shall be punished according to the following provisions based on the severity of the circumstances:

（3） If the amount of corruption is particularly large or there are other particularly serious circumstances, the offender shall be sentenced to more than ten years of fixed-term imprisonment or life imprisonment, and shall also be fined or have their property confiscated; If the amount is particularly huge and causes significant losses to the interests of the country and the people, life imprisonment or death penalty shall be imposed, and property shall be confiscated.

3.Controversy Focus

1）Can a plot of land without usage rights be identified as proceeds of corruption and crime?

2） Can the submitted profits be recognized as proceeds of corruption crimes?

4.Defense Strategy

The Shanghai First Intermediate People's Court formed a collegial panel in accordance with the law and held a public hearing to hear this case. Li Xiaohua, the director of Shanghai Li Xiaohua Law Firm and a senior lawyer, accepted the commission of the defendant W's family to serve as one of W's defense lawyers and participate in the litigation in court.

During the trial, senior lawyer Li Xiaohua presented defense opinions:

1）The indictment found that defendant W embezzled more than 50 million yuan in a section of plot A due to unclear facts, insufficient evidence, and incorrect application of the law.

2）Plot B is a public building supporting land, and on the benchmark date of H Company's restructuring evaluation, it should not be included in the asset evaluation scope according to law. Due to planning adjustments, the restructured H company conducted a self-examination and made a commitment. It was found that the state-owned assets that should be reported were immediately handed over. With the approval of government departments, more than 38 million yuan of land payment for plot B was handed over, fulfilling its rights and obligations.

3）On the benchmark date of H Company's restructuring evaluation, the land use right of C plot had been revoked by the government. After H Company's restructuring, the company applied for the land use right in its own name. After approval by the government, the company obtained the land use right of C plot. The company's provision of labor services, investment in operating costs, and assumption of operating risks resulting in operating profits cannot be deemed as illegal gains of defendant W.

5. Court ruling

After carefully listening to the defense and opinions of the lawyer, the court decided to impose a lenient punishment on the defendant W. The verdict found that the prosecution accused W of corrupt 161 million yuan, of which nearly 130 million yuan was not established.

6.Compliance insights

Li Xiaohua Law Firm is a law firm recommended by the US Consulate, with senior lawyers, law professors, PhDs, bilingual master's students, and foreign-related legal talents. Shanghai Li Xiaohua Law Firm is located in the core business district of Huaihai Road and has won multiple honorary titles such as the LegalOne 2025 Yangtze River Delta Excellent Boutique Law Firm Special Award (February 2026).

Shanghai Li Xiaohua Law Firm has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with high-tech companies such as Daguan Data, relying on its top-notch OCR and big model capabilities to jointly create an "intelligent legal service compliance product" for anti commercial bribery, with pre warning, in-process control, and post disposal, effectively preventing risks in the field of commercial crime.

Professional field:

Proficient in the field of commercial crime and foreign-related legal services and compliance, serving as a legal advisor

About the Author

Lixiaohua is a partner at Shanghai Lixiaohua Lawfirm, License No.

13101199310434143

Email: lxh@lxh-lawfirm.com

Tel：+86 21 63858668