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

Stop further payments?

Almost always.

Stop
02

Who received the SWIFT?

USCC vs a personal card.

Who
03

Freeze that account?

Preservation.

Freeze
04

Contract vs fraud facts?

Resolve the contract vs fraud facts question separately before choosing the route.

Label

Working rule: Foreign buyers often wire deposits to a PRC supplier. If production never happens, the claim is usually return of the advance and damages under the contract/Civil Code, not a criminal case by default.

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
One more 30% to finish
Sunk-cost trap.
Usually no.
Personal Alipay deposit
Not the company.
Harder recovery.
Skip freeze because talks are ‘friendly’
Money leaves.
Diary flight.
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.

01PO, contract, SWIFTThe advance.
02WeChat production photos vs realityPerformance.
03Supplier licenceWho you actually paid.
Common confusions

Questions people ask before they build.

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

Can I chargeback a T/T?

Telegraphic transfers are not credit-card chargebacks. Recovery is legal.

Is this fraud?

Only with deceit facts.

Primary authorities

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

PRC Civil Procedure Law (NPC)
Supreme People’s Court
PRC Company Law (NPC)
National laws database (NPC)