Surprisingly, you can buy it for 200000 yuan?, State owned enterprise identity

Counterfeiting state-owned enterprises poses endless harm. But can you imagine that for as little as 200000 yuan, you can buy a state-owned enterprise identity for a company, and even carve a seal to register as a subsidiary of a state-owned enterprise. Is it really so easy to impersonate a state-owned enterprise?

Can I buy a state-owned enterprise identity with a minimum of 200000 yuan?

On e-commerce platforms, it is easy to find intermediaries who provide services related to state-owned enterprises. A journalist from Zhongxin Finance searched for key "affiliated state-owned enterprises" on well-known e-commerce platforms, and the top one was the store that could provide "consultation services for state-owned enterprise mixed ownership reform at the first, second, third, and fourth levels".

The intermediary claims to be able to assist in obtaining state-owned enterprise status for private enterprises, but requires payment. The fee standards for affiliated state-owned enterprises vary according to different systems and levels, ranging from the basic 200000 to several million. For example, if one is affiliated with a central enterprise and becomes a second level company, a fee of 3.5 million yuan will be charged, and if they become a third level subsidiary, a fee of 1.9 million yuan will be charged.

"The cheapest state-owned enterprise affiliation only costs 200000 yuan," the intermediary confidently stated that after successful affiliation, the state-owned enterprise nature of the enterprise will generally be displayed on the enterprise query platform. After being affiliated with a state-owned enterprise, it can improve the company's credit, which is beneficial for undertaking projects in the future, as well as enhancing reputation and financing. Even if detected, it can still be linked to other systems for translation processing.

Counterfeiting state-owned enterprises can bring huge profits, which tempts many enterprises to take risks and also breeds a gray profit chain that provides services for state-owned enterprise affiliation.

Wu Jingming, Director of the China Consumers Association and Vice President of the Beijing Consumer Law Society, told China News Finance that a certain identity is always counterfeited because counterfeiting this identity brings huge benefits. Fake state-owned enterprises exist in a visible or invisible way, with profound and complex reasons. In the view of Liu Junhai, a professor at the Law School of Renmin University of China, "The reason why central enterprises are frequently counterfeited ultimately lies in the credit and resource advantages behind them."

Even with just carving a seal, one can become a state-owned enterprise?

Counterfeiting state-owned enterprises and spending money to establish connections is one way, but if you don't even want to spend this money, there is another simple and crude way, which is to carve an official seal, register as a subsidiary of state-owned enterprises through forging materials, and wear the "hat" of state-owned enterprises in a dignified manner.

Registering as a subsidiary of a state-owned enterprise through forging official seals and other materials has become a common practice among criminals. Many central enterprises have coincidentally mentioned this method in their anti counterfeiting statements.

On July 14th, China Merchants Group announced that some illegal elements have recently registered their companies as subsidiaries of China Merchants Group through forging official seals, business licenses, and other means, conducting business in the name of central enterprises. Some companies even engage in illegal activities such as fraud and illegal fundraising. On July 4th, CITIC Group issued a statement stating that it has detected illegal individuals registering its subsidiaries Beijing CITIC Enterprise Management Co., Ltd. and Beijing CITIC Enterprise Project Management Co., Ltd. as shareholders through forging official seals, signatures, and other means. On April 26th, Sinopec issued a statement stating that the group has discovered that some enterprises and personnel have registered their enterprises as subsidiaries of the group by forging official seals, submitting false registration materials, and other means.

Liu Junhai told China News Finance that the reason why fake state-owned enterprises are extremely confusing and difficult to detect is partly because many central enterprises have complex hierarchical structures and complex information on external investment. On the other hand, the current registration authorities conduct formal examination of application materials rather than substantive examination, which has led to the phenomenon of counterfeit and forged materials that are difficult to detect at the moment.

Whether it is through forged materials for false registration or through affiliation, fake state-owned enterprises can transform and obtain their identity. From the surface level of business information, it is difficult to discover their true identity.

What are the crimes of counterfeiting state-owned enterprises?

Counterfeiting state-owned enterprises has damaged the market environment and even touched the legal red line.

Yue Shenshan, Senior Partner of Beijing Yuecheng Law Firm, told China News Finance that fake state-owned enterprises use the name and image of real state-owned enterprises to endorse them and deceive the trust of trading partners in order to gain benefits in bidding, project cooperation, corporate financing, and other aspects. However, the performance ability of fake state-owned enterprises cannot be compared to that of real state-owned enterprises. Once there are significant risks in subsequent cooperation and performance, such as unfinished projects, poor project quality, and inability to repay bank loans, it will have a negative impact on the market reputation and brand image of real state-owned enterprises, and may also trigger certain social and financial risks.

Yue Shenshan believes that according to Article 280, Paragraph 2 of the Criminal Law, "Those who forge seals of companies, enterprises, public institutions, or people's organizations shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, public surveillance, or deprivation of political rights, and shall also be fined." The act of forging seals may also constitute a criminal offense and require criminal responsibility. If one uses the identity of a fake state-owned enterprise to sign contracts with other entities and fraudulently obtains other people's property for the purpose of illegal possession, it may also constitute the crime of contract fraud under Article 224 of the Criminal Law.

Yue Shenshan pointed out that the unauthorized use of state-owned enterprise names in enterprise names violates the right to enterprise names. If business activities are carried out in related industries at the same time, causing the relevant public to mistakenly believe that there is a specific connection between state-owned enterprises and causing market confusion, it also constitutes unfair competition behavior. You can report to the market supervision department and demand that they stop their illegal activities. A fine will be imposed based on the amount of illegal business operations. If the circumstances are serious, your business license may be revoked. In terms of civil liability, a lawsuit can be filed to claim cessation of the use of the company name, compensation for economic losses, and reasonable expenses paid to prevent infringement.