When employees of a private enterprise misappropriate company funds or take kickbacks, what has changed in the 2026 sentencing standards? Do the monetary thresholds for accepting bribes by non-state personnel still follow the two-fold and five-fold multipliers?
Yes, they have changed. Under Fa Shi No. 6 of 2026, effective from 1 May 2026, Article 8 provides that the conviction and sentencing thresholds for accepting bribes by non-state personnel, offering bribes to non-state personnel, misappropriation of company funds and misappropriation of company capital shall follow the standards applied to the corresponding offences of accepting bribes, offering bribes (bribery by an entity), embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds; the former two-fold and five-fold conversion no longer applies. At the same time, Amendment (XII) to the Criminal Law has extended breach-of-trust conduct such as illegally operating a competing business and illegally securing profits for relatives and friends to personnel within private enterprises.
