Official: Use technology to solve new crimes

'Supervisory loopholes' lie at the root of many problems, security chief says

China's top security official called for strong measures to prevent financial risks, including the use of technology to solve financial crimes, on Wednesday at a meeting of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.[Special coverage]

"Economic risk is a basic risk, and it is a prominent risk source affecting political security and social stability," said Meng Jianzhu, who heads the commission.

"We will further study the new trend of criminal financial operations and crack down on economic crimes" to remove systemic risks nationwide, he said.

Meng, the country's security chief, spoke at a key meeting held by the commission in Beijing during which he summarized the security measures implemented over the past five years and laid out new requirements and tasks for the future.

In recent years, an increasing number of economic crimes involving pyramid schemes and illegal fundraising have occurred across the country, posing a serious threat to economic security and social stability, he said, adding that "such crimes tend to be professional and complex, and the suspects use hidden means to avoid investigation".

He said supervisory loopholes were at the root of many problems regionally and throughout the system.

With the development of the internet and information technology, the number of cybercrimes and illegal fundraising cases is on the rise. Criminal gangs assume different roles to form a tight organization, and suspects use technology to conduct criminal activities, he said.

On Tuesday, the police in Henan province detained 172 members of Shanxinhui, a Shenzhen-based company, on suspicion of operating a pyramid scheme. All will face criminal charges.

Chinese police investigated Shanxinhui earlier for alleged pyramid-style selling that cheated people out of huge amounts of money in the guise of helping the poor. Several key members were detained on charges of making illegal profits of more than 2.2 billion yuan ($334 million).

Meng said security officers will take advantage of information resources to improve their ability to spot and evaluate economic crimes.

Moreover, a policy will be introduced to attract more talented personnel and cultivate more professionalism in teams targeting new kinds of economic crimes related to financial instruments and cybersecurity.

Zhang Shuyuan, vice-president of the Supreme People's Court said the greatest achievement made in the past five years was learning "to use a systematic, scientific, law-based, intelligent way to govern society".

"It is vital to set up a central information database, through which officers in different security departments can share information and integrate resources to go after economic crimes," Zhang said.