Real Case of Illegal Business Operation: Lawyer Successfully Defends Not Guilty

Not long ago, a case of illegal business operations attracted widespread attention. The protagonist of the case was originally a senior executive at a foreign company. Due to company layoffs, he fell into economic difficulties and began selling his personal collection of vinyl records online to make ends meet. However, this seemingly ordinary act put him at risk of a prison sentence of over five years.

Case Review

The person is a foreign company executive in his 40s with many years of hobby in collecting audio and video products. Six months ago, due to company layoffs leading to financial strain, he started selling his collectibles on second-hand platforms to subsidize his household expenses. As the response was good, he purchased a batch of records from overseas to sell on e-commerce platforms.

However, a batch of audio-visual products he purchased from overseas was detected by customs upon entry. Subsequently, a special task force composed of multiple departments including the public security and customs initiated an investigation against him for illegal business operations.

Key Controversial Points

1. Issues with the import business license for publications. In China, selling publications purchased from overseas requires obtaining this license. However, the threshold for obtaining this license is very high, making it impossible for individuals and general merchants to apply.

2. The sales volume far exceeds the statutory standard. According to regulations, unauthorized sales of publications reaching 150,000 yuan constitute "particularly serious circumstances" and should be sentenced to more than 5 years of fixed-term imprisonment. The sales volume in this case has exceeded 700,000 yuan.

3. The parties have expressed their guilty plea in the interrogation record.

Defense Strategy

The defense attorney, after careful consideration, decided to adopt a not guilty defense strategy:

1. Analyze the criminal motives of the parties involved, emphasizing that their actions are a desperate attempt to maintain their family's livelihood.

2. Demonstrating the limitations of the parties' understanding of the law, mistakenly believing that selling on well-known e-commerce platforms is a legal activity.

3. Prove that the parties have no subjective intention to pursue high profits, but only aim for low profits and high sales to subsidize household expenses.

4. Citing the principle of the criminal law's restraint, it is believed that the application of criminal penalties in this case does not conform to criminal justice policy.

5. Emphasize that the judiciary should reflect humanity and substantive justice, and should not mechanically apply legal provisions.

Final Result

After multiple rounds of communication with the lawyer and the submission of a legal opinion, the prosecution ultimately decided to return the case to the public security bureau, which will dismiss the case.

Insights and Reflections

1. There are no absolute "good people" or "bad people" in criminal cases; a rational analysis of the specific situation is required.

2. The significance of law lies in clarifying right and wrong through reason and safeguarding everyone's legal rights through procedures.

3. The value of a criminal lawyer lies in reducing the number of wrongful convictions and increasing justice in society.

This case reflects the importance of criminal defense and also highlights the disconnection between legal provisions and real-life situations in certain areas in our country, which deserves further attention and improvement.