Will the new regulations on aiding and abetting trusts be implemented in 2025? What will be the impact on web3 practitioners?

In 2015, my country's Criminal Law added the crime of aiding and abetting information network criminal activities (hereinafter referred to as "aiding and abetting crime"). With the continued implementation of the "card-cutting" campaign, prosecutions for this crime have rapidly increased. Public data shows that aiding and abetting crime now ranks third among criminal offenses. In practice, this crime has a mixed feeling. On the one hand, it is favored because it carries less liability than accomplices; on the other hand, it presents a thorny issue as a catch-all provision, making it difficult to easily escape legal consequences. In practice, courts in different regions have significant variations in their discretionary standards for aiding and abetting crime, leading to the common phenomenon of "different verdicts for the same case." On July 28, 2025, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and the Ministry of Public Security jointly issued the "Opinions on Issues Concerning the Handling of Criminal Cases Involving Assisting and Abetting Information Network Criminal Activities" (hereinafter referred to as the "Opinions"). This "Opinion" is a super-strengthened instruction manual on the judicial practice of aiding and abetting crime, and is often referred to as the "new regulations on aiding and abetting crime."

I. What are the changes in the new regulations regarding the crime of aiding and abetting trust?

The Opinions make significant adjustments to the identification criteria and sentencing rules for the crime of aiding and abetting trust, primarily in the following aspects

II. What are the judicial guidance implications of seven typical cases?

The Opinions were released simultaneously with the publication of seven typical cases, covering key players in the black and gray industries, including "U merchants," "account merchants," and "professional unblockers." Case 4, in particular, focuses on virtual currency crimes. After studying the opinions and published typical cases, I found that it's not significantly different from the criminal cases we handle daily, but the measures used to combat cybercrime and the black and gray industries are stricter and more forceful. [Basic Facts] In mid-July 2022, defendants Wang, Zhang, and Zhao conspired to transfer criminal funds for others through transfers, withdrawals, and the purchase of virtual currency to profit from illegal activities. The three had a clear division of labor: Wang provided funds, purchased virtual currency through Zhao, and provided it to their online broker as a deposit. Wang and Zhang then purchased numerous bank cards from others and provided them to their online broker to receive the criminal funds. Once the criminal funds were deposited into the bank cards provided by Wang and others, the online broker notified Wang and others, who then arranged for others to withdraw cash from multiple banks in Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province. After taking a 10%-15% commission on the funds received, they used the remaining funds to purchase virtual currency and transfer it to their online broker. An investigation revealed that between August 5 and 14, 2022, Wang and others defrauded 15 victims, including Lin, of over 400,000 yuan in funds they transferred for their online influencers. [Verdict] After trial, the Acheng District People's Court of Harbin sentenced Wang and Zhang to three years and six months in prison and a fine of RMB 30,000 for concealing and hiding the proceeds of crime. Zhao was sentenced to three years and three months in prison and a fine of RMB 25,000. Wang, Zhang, and Zhao appealed the verdict, but the second instance upheld the original verdict. [Warning] Wang, Zhang, and Zhao received illicit funds through bank cards and then converted them into virtual currency to transfer the funds involved. This is a typical example of using the "card-to-card" method in virtual currency transactions to transfer illicit funds, a practice many criminals consider a "perfect" "closed-loop" operation. In practice, many upstream fraudsters operate offshore and cleverly exploit the anonymity, high concealment, and ease of transaction of virtual currency to transfer illicit funds, complicating investigations. Downstream criminals assist upstream fraudsters in laundering and transferring funds through a series of complex operations, providing them with continuous financial support, ultimately causing irreparable losses to the victims. This case not only crystallizes the applicable rules of the Opinion, but also provides clear behavioral guidelines and adjudication standards for such cases. Even if "middlemen" do not directly participate in the upstream fraud, but still facilitate the flow of illicit funds, they should be severely punished.

III. What should web3 practitioners be aware of after the new regulations are released?

Web3's spring can only be "legally blown"

1. The new regulations send a clear signal that ignorance is no longer a universal shield. Web3 industry practitioners should strengthen their study and understanding of relevant laws and regulations, heighten their vigilance, strengthen risk prevention and control measures, and establish a sound compliance strategy to ensure the legality and compliance of their business activities, so as to avoid unknowingly becoming "tools" or "accomplices" of criminals.

2. Under the policy of combining leniency and severity, students or those under duress will receive lenient sentences, while technical experts will receive stricter sentences. Following the release of the guidelines, developers of virtual currency trading platforms, including those developing mixers and anonymous wallets, should be wary of potential risks. Even if they aren't directly involved in fraud or pyramid schemes, they could be charged with "providing technical support specifically for the purpose of committing a crime," directly constituting the crime of aiding and abetting. This is because their development work effectively lowers the threshold for criminal activity, effectively becoming "technical assistance" rather than "technical neutrality." 3. OTC merchants are undoubtedly operating on the brink of a crime, significantly increasing their criminal risk. If an OTC merchant continues trading after their account is frozen, they could be charged with "continuing activity after being restricted," directly constituting the crime of aiding and abetting. If they provide USDT arbitrage services to underground banks, they could face multiple penalties. 4. Compliance is imperative for web3 entrepreneurs. Web3 entrepreneurs should establish an industry compliance system as soon as possible, strengthen internal training, and regularly organize legal training for all employees.

Fourth, how do lawyers view the key impacts and challenges of the "Opinion"?

Organized and professional aiding and abetting activities fall under the circumstances explicitly listed as subject to severe punishment in the "Opinion." The release of the "Opinion" not only increases the cost of crime for upstream criminals but also effectively punishes illegal groups such as professional card issuers and cardholders. Although the "Opinion" refines the standards for conviction and sentencing, providing lawyers with clearer and more specific legal basis and regulatory guidance for criminal cases involving aiding and abetting, the determination of "knowingly" can still be ambiguous due to the complexity of the cases. Factors such as the perpetrator's subjective understanding, motivations, and whether there is genuine profit motivation are all factors that require in-depth exploration in our defense work. In short, the release of the "Opinion on Handling Criminal Cases Involving Assisting Information Network Crimes" marks the beginning of a "penetrating" phase in judicial regulation of the virtual currency industry. Practitioners must fully understand that only by building a comprehensive compliance system encompassing "pre-audit -> in-process monitoring -> post-event tracing" can they operate within a compliant framework. Lawyer Mei Mei advises those in the virtual currency industry to help others, but not to "facilitate trust." If a case is filed, they should contact a lawyer immediately to avoid the presumption of knowledge resulting from erroneous confessions.