Prospective Research On Criminal Regulation Of Crowdfunding In China

The financing model of crowdfunding rose in the United States first and developed rapidly. In July 2011, the first crowdfunding platforms named Demohour was online,which marked the formal entry of the financing model of crowdfunding into China. According to statistics, the financing model of crowdfunding in the domestic development of nearly five years, has been widely welcomed and there has been a large number of successful financing projects. However, the financing model of crowdfunding after all is a new model of financing.Some problems have appeared in the process of development, such as suspected of the risk of Crime of illegal fund-raising. The purpose of this article is around this problem.This article summes up the collected literature. After summarizing the theoretical classification and the practical practice of crowdfunding,the article analysises the criminal risk which the financing model of crowdfunding may lead to under the current legal environment in our country.Then the article puts forward the regulatory path of illegal crowdfunding in criminal law in the future of China.This article is divided into three parts.The first part describes the practice and legal regulation of the financing model of crowdfunding in China. Firstly.the article defines the concept of crowdfunding with analysising its origin. Actually, crowdfunding is a model of financing,by which the financier can raise project funds from the investors though the Internet or other electronic media. According to the investor's return,crowdfunding can be divided into four categories, including Equity-based crowdfunding?Lending-based crowdfunding?Reward-based crowdfunding and Donate-based crowdfunding. Secondly, this article analyzes the necessity of the legal regulation of crowdfunding.Chinese crowdfunding is a kind of innovative financing model. In practice, there have been some of the illegal activities of crowdfunding, which shows that crowdfunding regulatory is necessary. Finally, after analysing the domestic laws and regulations related to crowdfunding of recent years,the author consinders that there is no clear legal basis for the illegal activities of crowdfunding. Because the relevant departments have not yet issued clear laws and regulations so far, although some suspected illegal crowdfunding activities have the possibility of illegal fund-raising.The second part analyzes the criminal law risk of crowdfunding in China at present. Firstly,the article explains the difference between the legal activities of crowdfunding and illegal activities under the current legal system. The legal activities of crowdfunding should be carried out within the scope of existing laws and regulations. People can carry out the activities of crowdfunding as long as the law does not expressly prohibit it.But it should be considered to be illegal crowdfunding when it is beyond the boundaries of the law. Then the article analyzes the possible criminal risk of each of the four kinds of crowdfunding. Equity-based crowdfunding is the only one which has a clear regulation at present. Furthermore, the illegal activities of crowdfunding has a real criminal law risk. In practice, there are still many problems in the practice of the criminal law regulation of other kinds of crowdfunding. Secondly, the article analyzes the essence of the illegal crowdfunding, as well as the feasibility of the regulation of the Criminal Law. According to the relevant laws and regulations, the behavior of the illegal activities of crowdfunding is appropriate to four characteristics of illegal fund-raising,which is an act of illegal absorption of funds essentially. Therefore, it is necessary and feasible to regulate the illegal activities of crowdfunding. Finally, the article analyzes the reasons why the relevant departments do not regulate the illegal activities of crowdfunding with Criminal Law now. There are two reasons. On the one hand, the Criminal Law is not clearly defined so that the relevant departments consider that the civil laws or administrative rules can be used to deal with the illegal activities of crowdfunding. On the other hand, the enthusiasm of the financier may be weakened by using the Criminal Law regulation of crowdfunding. What the departments do reflects the modesty principle of Criminal Law in China.The third part of the article elaborates the possible regulatory measures of the illegal activities of crowdfunding. Firstly,the relevant departments need to develop clear legal norms,which is the basis of the Criminal Law regulation of all the illegal activities of crowdfunding. Secondly,it is necessary to make it clear about the essence of the illegal crowdfunding and the standards for crime. The illegal activities of crowdfunding is an act of illegal absorption of funds essentially,which may offend the Crime of Illegal Absorbing Public Deposits and Fund Raising Fraud if there is an illegal possession.The illegal activities of crowdfunding shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Law and relevant judicial interpretations when they conform to the standards for crime.Possible innovations in this article:on the one hand,the article explores the essence of the illegal crowdfunding and the risk of Criminal Law theoretically. The illegal crowdfunding is an act of illegal absorption of funds essentially,as well as the risk of illegal fund-raising crimes. On the other hand.the article puts forward the measures of regulation of Criminal Law about the illegal crowdfunding in future China.The relevant departments need to develop clear legal norms so that the illegal crowdfunding can be included in the scope of illegal fund-raising crimes.The deficiency of this article:Since literatures collected is not sufficient and my own theoretical level is limited.It is inadequate about the theoretical analysis of the modesty principle of Criminal Law and the regulation measures of Criminal Law,which should be improved.