The general public and the investors have expressed strong indignation toward financial fraud committed by a small number of listed companies, and China's public security authorities will continue to maintain a "zero tolerance" stance toward such crimes and provide "strong protection" for the public and investors, a spokesperson from the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) said on Wednesday.

Regarding financial fraud by listed companies, the public security organs have consistently maintained a high-pressure crackdown, the spokesperson said, vowing to carry out all-round and comprehensive crackdown on all related criminal activities.

The authorities will severely punish suspected criminal acts by controlling shareholders, actual controllers, and other key personnel of listed companies, as well as thoroughly investigate crimes such as embezzlement of funds and misappropriation of company assets that hollow out businesses. Also, intermediaries and third parties involved in or assisting with the fraud will be subject to "dual investigations in a single case."

As of the end of April this year, public security authorities across China have resolved 128,000 economic crime cases since 2025, recovering economic losses totaling 37.5 billion yuan ($5.5 billion), according to the ministry.

At the press briefing, MPS also released a total of 20 typical cases of economic crimes investigated since 2025, involving crimes such as illegal operations, money laundering, currency counterfeiting, insurance fraud, and fraudulent export tax rebates.

In one example, the chairman and general manager of a company surnamed Ji conspired with the company's financial chief surnamed Yuan, as well as others, to inflate the company's revenues and profits from 2017 to 2022 by deceptive means. The company released false annual reports for six consecutive years, overstating total profits by nearly 8.2 billion yuan, the ministry spokesperson said.