Banking Law and Illegal Fundraising | Salesperson, Introducer, and Personal Liability: Can someone who is merely a salesperson, introducer, or receives commissions become a co-defendant in illegal fundraising? Author: Attorney Li Yusheng | Fidelity Law Firm Not everyone in a company bears the same criminal liability under banking law. 01 First, confirm whether you are the plan designer, person in charge, or manager. 02 Confirm whether you are aware of the complete fundraising method, remuneration, and principal arrangements. 03 Confirm whether you are merely making occasional introductions or continuously soliciting investors. 04 Confirm whether you receive commissions based on the amount raised, manage other business, or handle contracts and funds. 05 Even if the same company is accused of illegal fundraising, the intent, actions, and evidence of each defendant should be judged individually. After large-scale illegal fundraising cases occur, the most common phrase heard is: "I'm not the boss, I'm just a salesperson." Or: "I just introduced friends to invest together." Even: …

BANKING ACT · DETENTION & BAIL DEFENSE What to do if you are detained in a banking law case involving illegal fundraising? First, dismantle the charges of escape, collusion, destruction of evidence, and the necessity of detention. When faced with a detention charge in a banking law case, don't just ask "how severe is the sentence?" First, confirm which reason the prosecution is arguing for detention: escape, collusion, destruction of evidence, or a serious crime combined with specific risks. Confirm how much of the company's accounting books, mobile phones, computers, bank transaction records, and investor information has been searched, seized, or retrieved. Distinguish which employees, businesses, investors, or co-defendants you can actually influence; don't just use company titles to presume collusion capabilities. Confirm whether bail, restrictions on residence, restrictions on leaving the country or going to sea, or prohibitions on contact with specific individuals can reduce the necessity of detention. Substantive defense and detention defense must be synchronized: you can't just say "I didn't illegally raise funds," nor can you only talk about family and work without mentioning…

BANKING ACT · CRIMINAL DEFENSE What to do if accused of illegal fundraising under the Banking Act? First, analyze the target investors, compensation, cash flow, and individual roles. Illegal fundraising under the Banking Act isn't simply a matter of seeing "people transferring money." First, confirm the legal relationship of the funds: investment, loan, equity, commodity transaction, or actual receipt of deposits. Identify the target investors: are they a specific few, a large number, or unspecified individuals? Identify the compensation arrangement: are there any agreements or payments of bonuses, interest, dividends, or other compensation that are clearly disproportionate to the principal? Confirm how the company actually operates and how the funds are used, not just whether the investment resulted in a loss. Each defendant must be separated: the person in charge, salesperson, introducer, financial personnel, and simple investor; criminal liability should not be mixed. The most common misconception in illegal fundraising under the Banking Act is seeing: many people transferring money; the company…

CASE RESULT · Second Instance Reversal of Acquittal: First Instance Guilty, Second Instance Overturns and Acquittal | Criminal Defense Case of Company Capital Increase, Company Law, and Commercial Accounting Law First Instance Guilty → Second Instance Overturns → Acquittal First Instance Guilty First Instance Result: Article 9 of the Company Law, three crimes, each with a four-month prison sentence, to be served concurrently with a seven-month prison sentence Second Instance: Taiwan High Court Second Instance Result: Original judgment overturned, acquittal Main Points of Contention: Article 9 of the Company Law, Article 71, Paragraph 5 of the Commercial Accounting Law, Article 214 of the Criminal Law Defense Counsel: Attorney Li Yusheng Excerpt from the Second Instance Judgment: Original judgment overturned, defendant acquitted. Defense Counsel: Attorney Li Yusheng. Click the image to view a larger version. Why can a company executive who was convicted in the first instance be completely acquitted in the second instance? One of the most common problems in company criminal cases is that seeing funds "coming in and going out" in the bank account is directly interpreted as fraudulent capital increase or capital flight…

When financial accountants are questioned, they must first answer five questions: 1. What is my official title and actual work? 2. Do I only know about transactions and funds, or just accounting documents? 3. Who provided the relevant information, and who decided on the accounting entry method? 4. Did I request supplementary information, object, or propose corrections? 5. Did I sign the financial statements, and did I actually participate in the alleged misrepresentation? After a company is involved in cases of financial statement misrepresentation, fraudulent transactions, or business accounting law violations, the people most frequently involved in criminal proceedings, besides the chairman and general manager, are: the CFO; the finance manager; the accounting manager; the chief accountant; the accounting staff in charge; and those who actually operate the ERP system or prepare accounting vouchers. When these people are questioned by the investigation bureau, they often present two completely opposite ideas. The first is: "I just did the accounting according to the boss's instructions; I didn't make the decisions, so it shouldn't have anything to do with me."...