China: A Corporate Investigations/Anti-Corruption (PRC Firms) Overview

Corporate investigations mainly include handling government investigations and conducting internal investigations, which are closely interconnected since the most complicated, urgent and sensitive internal investigations are always triggered by the external regulatory environment. Thus, corporate investigations related to anti-corruption are largely driven by government enforcement actions, which can be classed into three main dimensions within the PRC legal system:

• administrative legislation and enforcement actions by the Administrations for Market Regulation (AMR);
• criminal legislation and enforcement actions on cases not involving public officials by the Public Security Bureaus; and
• legislation and enforcement actions on cases involving public officials by the Supervisory Commissions.

Further, cross-border investigations involving multiple jurisdictions are complicated by additional legal and compliance restrictions and considerations.

Anti-Corruption Administrative Legislation and Enforcement Trend

The newly amended Anti-Unfair Competition Law (AUCL) took effect in October 2025. Not only does it introduce administrative liability for bribe-takers, but it also significantly strengthens the penalties for commercial bribery. These enhanced penalties include a proposed increase in the maximum fine for commercial bribery from CNY3 million to CNY5 million, and the introduction of fines for individuals responsible for business operations, in addition to the existing liability imposed solely on the entity.

Procedurally, the State Council issued the Regulations on Administrative Law Enforcement Supervision (effective as of 1 February 2026) to strengthen oversight of non-standardised administrative law enforcement activities, such as irregular cross-regional enforcement and profit-driven enforcement. These regulations aim not only to regulate administrative law enforcement procedures, but also to optimise the business environment for enterprises.

In terms of enforcement, with the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) focus on addressing corruption in the pharmaceutical industry and its commitment to rigorously combating commercial bribery, local AMRs have actively engaged in related enforcement activities. In addition, in January 2025, the SAMR issued the Compliance Guidelines for Pharmaceutical Enterprises to Prevent Commercial Bribery Risks (Guidelines), systematically outlining risk scenarios for pharmaceutical companies across various activities, including R&D, production, distribution and promotion, providing practical guidance on compliance management to prevent commercial bribery risks. In April 2025, the Shanghai Municipal Administration for Market Regulation released a complementary case manual, which serves as a concrete supplement and vivid interpretation of the Guidelines. In June 2025, SAMR and 13 other departments jointly issued relevant notices, encouraging pharmaceutical companies to enhance compliance management by referencing the Guidelines.

Anti-Corruption Criminal Legislation and Enforcement Trend

Substantively, Amendment XII to the Criminal Law came into effect on 1 March 2024. This amendment refines the criminal penalties related to commercial bribery crimes and introduces new crimes related to corruption within private enterprises. Since 2025, the Supreme People’s Court (SPC), the Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) and the Ministry of Public Security have released several batches of typical corruption cases, including duty-related crimes such as embezzlement and bribe-taking, as well as private sector corruption. This judicial approach of using case precedents to interpret legislation has significantly bolstered the enforcement of the newly amended Criminal Law.

Procedurally, since the SPP issued the Guidelines for the Two-Way Connection between Criminal Prosecution and Administrative Enforcement by the People’s Procuratorates in December 2024, local people’s procuratorates (“Procuratorates”) have successively promulgated detailed implementation rules. These guidelines and rules will help to promote effective co-ordination between criminal justice and administrative law enforcement and create a closed loop for accountability.

In terms of criminal proceedings, public statistics disclosed by the SPP show that the intense pressure on anti-corruption remains strong. As of September 2025, Procuratorates had accepted 23,000 cases of duty-related crimes transferred by Supervisory Commissions at various levels, with 21,000 individuals prosecuted. Duty-related crimes in healthcare and other key sectors remain the focal points of anti-corruption enforcement. Simultaneously, the policy of investigating both bribe-givers and bribe-takers continued to advance. By September 2025, Procuratorates had prosecuted 2,482 individuals for crimes of offering bribes.

Anti-Corruption Supervisory Legislation and Enforcement Trend

As the anti-corruption efforts continuously intensified, the newly amended Supervision Law and its implementation rules took effect on 1 June 2025, adding new supervisory measures such as compulsory appearance and release pending investigation, as well as extending the maximum detention period and introducing the rule that allows the resetting of the detention period. Notably, the Supervisory Commissions are also authorised to investigate non-public officials involved in bribery cases. As of September 2025, for instance, media reports indicate that at least 37 directors, supervisors or senior management (the majority of those were non-public officials) from 35 listed companies were detained by the Supervision Commissions for being involved in bribery cases and other duty-related crimes, with cases concentrated in capital-intensive sectors such as healthcare.

In terms of law enforcement, domestic anti-corruption efforts continued steadily. In the first three quarters of 2025, discipline inspection commissions and supervisory agencies at all levels initiated 789,000 cases and imposed disciplinary sanctions on 677,000 individuals, reflecting a year-on-year increase compared to 2024. Simultaneously, efforts to combat cross-border corruption intensified. China officially launched the “Sky Net 2025” operation in March 2025. Notably, the National Supervisory Commission (NSC) initiated its first specialised operation for the overseas recovery of criminal proceeds related to duty-related crimes. As of August 2025, CNY22.5 billion in illicit assets had been recovered.

Investigations Involving Multiple Jurisdictions

Under the circumstances where a government investigation involves multiple jurisdictions, conflicting law issues might arise. The International Criminal Judicial Assistance Law (ICJAL), enacted in 2018, clearly prohibits any unauthorised criminal investigation by any means. In 2024, seven departments, including the NSC, SPC and SPP, jointly issued specific regulations to implement the ICJAL, mandating the establishment of a working mechanism under the State Council to review the application in respect of the cross-border transfer of criminal evidence. Consequently, either directly conducted by the foreign authorities, or collaterally through instructing companies in China to collect evidence through internal investigation, any provision of criminal evidence or related information from entities, organisations or individuals within China to foreign parties is subject to review and approval by this working mechanism. Further, the Data Security Law and the Personal Information Protection Law regulate providing data stored within China to foreign judicial or law enforcement agencies. As cross-border investigations are frequently implicated with other restrictions on transfer of protected data such as state secrets, important data, etc, under the relevant PRC laws and regulations such as the Counter-Espionage Law and the Law on Guarding State Secrets, comprehensive analysis on all relevant legal issues would be required.

Outlook and Recommendations

Anti-corruption remains a priority for China, as evidenced by the from-the-top claims of a zero-tolerance approach to corruption along with the evolving legislation trend and intensified government enforcement actions. Correspondingly, in order to contain the compliance risks associated with bribery and corruption, more commitments to compliance from companies are strongly suggested, which could be initially achieved through a well-designed and implemented compliance system, covering dimensions including due diligence on third parties, financial and operational internal control, standardisation of gift and entertainment policies, management of business partners, an effective reporting mechanism, a proper investigation process, a crisis-management process and corrective measures for discovered issues.

Notably, special attention and preparation are required in handling potential government investigations or inquiries where proper responsive actions may likely help to alleviate the risks through necessary efforts including internal investigation, evidence preservation, proactive communication with the authorities, control of media and public exposure, etc. For those matters involving complex issues, professional legal support should be sought in a timely manner.

公司调查主要涵盖配合外部调查及开展内部调查，这两者紧密相连，因为实践中最复杂、紧迫且敏感的内部调查往往是由外部监管环境所引发的。因此，与反腐败相关的公司调查在很大程度上也是由政府的执法行动推动的。在中国法律体系中，外部调查可以进一步分为三块：（1）行政层面立法和由市场监督管理部门（市监部门）开展的执法工作；（2）刑事层面立法及由公安机关主导的不涉及公职人员案件的执法工作；以及（3）纪检监察相关立法及由监察委员会主导的涉及公职人员案件的执法工作。此外，涉及多个司法管辖区域的跨境调查因受到额外的法律和合规限制和考量而更为复杂。

反腐败行政立法与执法趋势

在实体法层面，新修《反不正当竞争法》于2025年10月正式生效，不仅增设对于受贿人的违法责任，还明显加强对商业贿赂行为的处罚力度，包括对商业贿赂行为的罚款上限从300万元提升至500万元人民币，以及在原本对商业贿赂仅设单位责任的基础上引入对经营者的相关责任人的罚款。

在程序法层面，国务院在2025年出台了《行政执法监督条例》（将于2026年2月1日起生效），强化对违规异地执法、趋利性执法等不规范的行政执法行为的监督，不仅有利于规范行政执法程序，还有利于优化企业营商环境。

在执法方面，在国家市场监督管理总局（市监总局）聚焦医疗领域腐败问题、严厉打击商业贿赂违法行为的要求下，各地市监部门积极开展相关执法活动。此外，2025年1月，市监总局发布《医药企业防范商业贿赂风险合规指引》（《指引》），系统梳理了医药企业在研发、生产、流通、推广等活动中的风险活动场景，对医药企业防范商业贿赂风险合规管理提供了实操建议。2025年4月，上海市市场监督管理局发布配套案例手册，作为《指引》的具象补充和生动注解。2025年6月，市监总局等14部委发布相关通知，提出鼓励医药企业参考《指引》加强合规管理。

反腐败刑事立法与执法趋势

在实体法层面，《刑法修正案（十二）》已于2024年3月1日正式生效，完善了关于商业贿赂犯罪的刑罚规定，同时新增了民营企业内部腐败相关犯罪。2025年以来，最高人民法院（最高法）、最高人民检察院（最高检）、公安部陆续发布不同类型的腐败犯罪典型案例，包括贪污受贿等职务犯罪及民营企业腐败犯罪的相关案例，通过以案释法的方式促进了刑法修正案的有效执行。

在程序法层面，自最高检于2024年12月印发《人民检察院行刑反向衔接工作指引》以来，各地人民检察院（检察院）陆续出台相关工作细则，有利于推动刑事司法与行政执法的有效衔接，形成责任追究的闭环。

在刑事诉讼方面，最高检公开的统计数据显示，反腐高压态势依然严峻。截至2025年9月，检察院已受理各级监察委员会移送职务犯罪2.3万人，起诉2.1万人，其中医药等重点领域的职务犯罪仍是反腐执法焦点。同时，受贿行贿一起查不断推进，截至2025年9月，检察院已起诉行贿犯罪2482人。

反腐败监察立法与执法趋势

随着反腐进一步深入，新修《监察法》及其实施条例于2025年6月1日正式生效，主要增设了强制到案、责令候查等监察办案措施，且延长留置期限并对其设定重新计算规则。值得注意的是，监察委员会可以对涉嫌贿赂案件的非公职人员一并管辖。例如截至2025年9月，相关媒体统计至少有35家上市公司的37名董事、监事或高级管理层（主要为非公职人员）因涉嫌贿赂案件等职务犯罪而被监察委员会留置，涉及行业包括医药等资金密集领域。

在执法方面，国内反腐治理稳步推进，2025年前三季度全国纪检监察机关共立案78.9万件，给予处分67.7万人，与2024年同期相比有所增加。同时境外腐败治理不断深入，中国“天网2025”于2025年3月行动正式启动，国家监察委员会今年首次开展职务犯罪境外追赃挽损专项行动，截至2025年8月已追回赃款225亿元。

涉及多法域的调查

在外部调查涉及多个司法管辖区域的情况下，可能会引发法律适用冲突的问题。2018年颁布的《国际刑事司法协助法》（ICJAL）明确禁止以任何方式进行未经授权的刑事调查。2024年，国家监察委员会、最高法、最高检等七部门联合印发关于实施ICJAL的具体规定，要求在国务院下建立刑事证据出境审查工作机制。由此，无论是由外国政府直接进行的调查，还是间接地通过指示在中国的公司通过内部调查的方式收集证据，中国境内机构、组织和个人向外国提供刑事证据等信息均需经该工作机制审查同意。此外，《数据安全法》和《个人信息保护法》对向外国司法或执法机构提供存储在中国境内的数据进行了规范。由于跨境调查经常涉及其他受保护数据的传输限制，如国家秘密、重要数据等，企业也应当根据新修订的《反间谍法》《保守国家秘密法》等中国法律法规对所有相关的法律问题进行全面分析。

展望与建议

反腐败在中国始终是核心议题，从中央到地方对腐败问题秉持零容忍的坚定态度，持续更新的立法动态与日益强化的政府执法实践便是有力佐证。在此背景下，企业面临着日益严格的合规监管环境，为有效防控贿赂与腐败相关风险，我们建议企业构建并落实完备的合规管理体系，积极履行合规义务。合规体系应实现全流程、多维度覆盖，涵盖对第三方的尽职调查、财务和运营的内部控制、标准化的礼品和招待政策、业务合作伙伴的管理、有效的报告机制、适当的调查流程、危机管理流程以及对发现问题的整改措施等方面。

值得注意的是，企业在处理潜在的外部调查或问询时，需要给予特别关注并做好充分准备，尤其需要关注任何工作的合法性。通过开展内部调查、保全证据、主动与政府部门沟通以及控制媒体报道和公众舆论等必要手段，采取合法且恰当的应对措施，极有可能有助于降低相关风险。对于那些涉及复杂问题的事项，则应及时寻求专业的法律支持。