The classification screen

4 questions before you choose the route.

This page identifies the right question and evidence. It does not determine the legal outcome on a reader’s facts.

01

What licence was supposedly required?

Sector rule.

Licence
02

Is the theory illegal business operations or fraud?

Charging choice.

Theory
03

Administrative penalty already?

Prior file.

Admin
04

Cross-border payments involved?

FX/tax overlays.

Overlay

Working rule: The crime of illegal business operations has been used across licensing, trading, and some financial grey zones.

What changes the answer

The signal ledger.

These facts move the question beyond a label and into a product, money-flow and control analysis.

Signal
Ask the operating question
Why it changes the route
Everything unlicensed = illegal business operations
Overcharge culture.
Counsel.
Ignore judicial interpretation limits
Old expansive readings.
Update.
HQ ‘move the server’ as the plan
Evidence and flight issues.
Stop.
Prepare before you escalate

Bring a compact evidence docket—not a pitch deck.

Give a compliance team or counsel the operating facts that reveal the perimeter.

01Business licence and sector permitsWhat you held.
02Transaction model memoWhat you sold.
03Prior admin penaltiesHistory.
Common confusions

Questions people ask before they build.

Short answers for orientation. The right result can change with the service model and current rules.

Is missing an ICP a crime?

Usually administrative first; criminal exposure depends on facts and theories. Do not equate every licence gap with illegal business operations.

Who should we call?

PRC criminal counsel plus the sector regulator path — not only a growth consultant.

Primary authorities

Reviewed sources support orientation, not a fact-specific assessment.

PRC Criminal Procedure Law (NPC)
PRC Criminal Law (NPC)
Supreme People’s Procuratorate
Ministry of Public Security