# Task E: Legal Boundary Between Legal Distribution and Illegal Pyramid Selling (China)

## Sources

| # | URL | Source Type | Accessibility | Date | Authority |
|---|-----|-------------|---------------|------|-----------|
| 1 | 《禁止传销条例》(国务院令第444号) | Government regulation | Open | 2005-11-01 | 10 |
| 2 | 《直销管理条例》(国务院令第443号) | Government regulation | Open | 2005-12-01 | 10 |
| 3 | [最高法/市监总局联合发布惩治网络传销犯罪典型案例](https://www.court.gov.cn/zixun/xiangqing/436301.html) | Government notice (SPC+SAMR) | Open | 2024-06-28 | 10 |
| 4 | [公安部公布5起传销犯罪典型案例](https://news.cctv.cn/2024/10/25/ARTIcxHATz7VpMrIyShT8fBI241025.shtml) | Government notice (MPS) | Open | 2024-10-25 | 10 |
| 5 | [社交电商步入合规深水区 - Lexology](https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=6f2dfc03-c164-47d8-8571-3876489b583c) | Law firm analysis | Open | 2026 | 8 |
| 6 | [社交电商与组织、领导传销活动罪的界限认定 - 君悦律师事务所](https://www.mhplawyer.com/CN/05-14197.aspx) | Law firm analysis | Open | — | 8 |
| 7 | [什么是"三级分销"？"三级分销"是传销吗？ - 网经社](https://www.100ec.cn/detail--6638350.html) | Industry analysis | Open | 2024 | 7 |
| 8 | [真实交易：区分传销与社交营销的本质界限 - 锦天城律师事务所](https://www.allbrightlaw.com/CN/10475/5373d6b4c4b692bc.aspx) | Law firm analysis | Open | — | 8 |
| 9 | [社交电商 V.S. 互联网传销 - China Law Insight](https://www.chinalawinsight.com/2020/08/articles/intellectual-property/社交电商-v-s-互联网传销/) | Law firm analysis | Open | 2020-08 | 8 |
| 10 | [SPC/SPP/MPS Opinion on Pyramid Schemes](https://www.chinalawtranslate.com/en/spcspp-mps-opinion-on-pyramid-schemes/) | Judicial interpretation (translation) | Open | 2013-11-22 | 10 |
| 11 | [《禁止传销条例》连续三年列入重点修订进程 - 新浪财经](https://finance.sina.com.cn/roll/2026-03-24/doc-inhscaes7384769.shtml) | News analysis | Open | 2026-03-24 | 7 |
| 12 | [2024年以来六家企业因传销被市监局处罚 - 网经社](https://www.100ec.cn/detail--6638619.html) | Industry analysis | Open | 2024 | 7 |
| 13 | [商城有推广功能的注意：三级以上分销违法 - 知乎](https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/721666916) | Technical/compliance guide | Open | 2024-09 | 6 |
| 14 | [微信多级分销经营行为官方规范](https://developers.weixin.qq.com/community/business/doc/000c2614a84e70c51e3d8ec1b5a40d) | Platform policy (WeChat) | Open | — | 9 |
| 15 | [微信将整顿多级分销欺诈行为 - IT之家](https://www.ithome.com/0/256/946.htm) | News report | Open | 2016 | 6 |
| 16 | [花生日记涉传销被罚7456万 - 界面新闻](https://m.jiemian.com/article/2958605.html) | News report | Open | 2019-03 | 7 |
| 17 | [云集微店传销事件 - 砍柴网](https://m.ikanchai.com/pcarticle/145783) | News report | Open | 2017 | 7 |
| 18 | [永倍达传销案 - 知乎专栏](https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/1954502779520390706) | News/case report | Open | 2024-09 | 6 |
| 19 | [警惕"新型消费"下的非法集资、传销陷阱 - 光明网](https://m.gmw.cn/2024-10/29/content_1303883165.htm) | Government warning | Open | 2024-10-29 | 9 |
| 20 | [51家！2024年哪些企业因传销被异地市监局执法？ - 搜狐](https://www.sohu.com/a/850054092_100116800) | News aggregation | Open | 2024 | 6 |
| 21 | [检察机关起诉传销罪4627人 - 最高检](https://www.spp.gov.cn/xwfbh/wsfbt/202410/t20241028_670028.shtml) | Government notice (SPP) | Open | 2024-10-28 | 10 |
| 22 | [关于传销案件的法律适用:七条规定明确六方面问题 - 最高检](https://www.spp.gov.cn/zdgz/201401/t20140120_66684.shtml) | Government guidance (SPP) | Open | 2014-01-20 | 10 |
| 23 | [团队计酬式传销和拉人头、入门费式传销的本质区别 - 知乎专栏](https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/82778150) | Legal commentary | Open | — | 6 |
| 24 | [传销的行刑衔接及法律适用 - 德恒律师事务所](https://www.dehenglaw.com/CN/tansuocontent/0008/030722/7.aspx) | Law firm analysis | Open | — | 8 |
| 25 | [Regulation of pyramid schemes in China - ResearchGate](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/387555261_Regulation_of_pyramid_schemes_in_China) | Academic paper | Restricted | 2024 | 9 |
| 26 | [MLM Laws in China - Wellman & Warren](https://w-wlaw.com/mlm-laws-in-china/) | Law firm analysis | Open | — | 7 |
| 27 | [《禁止传销条例》解读 - 平顶山市政府 DOCX](https://www.pds.gov.cn/upload/files/2021/11/9/《禁止传销条例》解读.docx) | Government interpretation | Open | 2021 | 8 |
| 28 | [直销与传销管理条例修订在即 - 纪实资讯](https://www.zxfull.com/2026/04/01/136224/) | News analysis | Open | 2026-04-01 | 7 |

## Findings

1. **Legal framework has two pillars**: 《禁止传销条例》(State Council Order 444, effective 2005-11-01) defines and prohibits pyramid selling; 《直销管理条例》(State Council Order 443, effective 2005-12-01) regulates legal direct selling. Both are 20+ years old and currently under active revision (listed in SAMR legislative tasks for 2024, 2025, and 2026 consecutively, but not yet formally revised as of March 2026).

2. **Three criteria for identifying pyramid selling (Article 7 of the Regulation)**:
   - **拉人头 (Recruiting heads)**: Organizers develop personnel and require them to develop others, compensating based on the number of people recruited (direct or indirect, rolling).
   - **入门费 (Entry fees)**: Organizers require payment of fees or disguised payment (e.g., purchasing products at inflated prices) as a condition to join or to qualify to develop others.
   - **团队计酬 (Team-based remuneration)**: Organizers require pyramid personnel to form hierarchical relationships and compensate uplines based on downlines' sales performance.

3. **The "3-tier rule" origin**: The commonly cited "3-tier" threshold comes from the 2013 joint opinion by SPC, SPP, and MPS (《关于办理组织领导传销活动刑事案件适用法律若干问题的意见》). It establishes the **criminal prosecution standard**: an organization must have **30 or more people AND 3 or more levels** (not counting the organizer's own level) for the organizer/leader to face criminal charges under Criminal Law Article 224-1. **This does NOT mean 3-tier is automatically legal** -- even 2-tier can be administratively penalized if it meets the pyramid selling criteria.

4. **Criminal vs. Administrative distinction**: Criminal Law Article 224-1 only covers "拉人头" and "入门费" type pyramid schemes (with fraudulent intent). "团队计酬" type is generally handled as an administrative violation under the Regulation, unless it is used as a facade for fraud.

5. **Penalties range dramatically**:
   - Administrative: 50万-200万元 fine + confiscation of illegal gains (statutory minimum 50万)
   - Criminal: up to 15 years imprisonment + fines (the Zhang case had a 1亿元 fine)
   - Platform-level: WeChat permanently bans accounts, blocks payment interfaces

6. **2024 enforcement intensity**: In Jan-Sep 2024, procuratorates prosecuted 4,627 people for organizing/leading pyramid selling activities. June 2024 saw SPC+SAMR jointly release 5 typical cyber-pyramid selling cases. October 2024 saw MPS release 5 more typical cases. At least 51 companies were penalized by SAMR in 2024, with 4 cross-jurisdictional enforcement cases.

7. **Major platform cases**:
   - **花生日记 (2019)**: 7,456万 fine, up to 51 levels, 20M users. Rectified in 2018.
   - **云集 (2017)**: 958万 fine, public account permanently banned. Rectified in 2016, listed on NASDAQ in 2019.
   - **永倍达 (2023-2025)**: ~1000亿 RMB involved, 11M users, final conviction in 2025 (Anhui intermediate court), 10 executives sentenced, 5亿 RMB fine (mostly uncollectible).

8. **WeChat anti-pyramid policy**: WeChat's official rules explicitly prohibit multi-level distribution fraud using WeChat relationships. Penalties include feature restrictions to permanent account bans. WeChat Pay merchant review forms specifically check for hierarchical relationships and commission structures above 3 levels. The policy covers public accounts, mini-programs (Article 5.9.3), and video accounts.

9. **Legal distribution model must**: (a) have genuine product transactions at market prices, (b) limit commission tiers to 3 or fewer, (c) base commissions on actual sales profit not recruitment, (d) avoid mandatory entry fees or product purchase requirements, (e) maintain reasonable pricing without inflated "membership" markups.

10. **2026 regulatory trends**: The revision of both the Direct Sales and Anti-Pyramid Selling regulations is in substantive preparation. Potential changes include possible decriminalization/redefinition of "团队计酬" and clearer boundaries for social e-commerce. The regulatory emphasis has shifted from pure prohibition to compliance guidance ("合规深水区").

## Deep Read Notes

### Source 1: SPC/SPP/MPS Joint Opinion on Pyramid Schemes (2013)

This judicial interpretation (via China Law Translate English translation) is the single most important document for understanding the criminal threshold. Key provisions:

- **Article 1**: Defines the criminal threshold as 30+ people and 3+ levels for Criminal Law Article 224-1 prosecution.
- **Article 2**: Clarifies that the "3 levels" count does NOT include the organizer's own level -- meaning 4 total tiers triggers criminal liability.
- **Article 3**: Establishes that "team remuneration" (团队计酬) is only criminal if it is used as a cover for fraud (骗取财物). Legitimate team-based sales compensation is NOT criminal.
- **Article 4**: Defines "organizing and leading" to include founders, decision-makers, key managers, and those who play key roles in recruiting/training.
- **Article 6**: Addresses cross-regional jurisdiction for online pyramid schemes.

This document is the legal basis for the commonly cited "3-tier rule" but importantly distinguishes between administrative illegality and criminal liability.

### Source 3: SPC + SAMR 5 Typical Cases (June 2024)

The joint release by Supreme People's Court and State Administration for Market Regulation on 2024-06-28 covers 5 representative cyber-pyramid selling cases:

1. **Zhang case**: Posed as "poverty alleviation and shared prosperity" charity, illegally obtained 2.5 billion RMB. Principal received 15 years (maximum sentence) + 100 million RMB fine. Demonstrates the "打财断血" (cut off financial resources) principle.

2. **Zhejiang company (Qian et al.) case**: Used "smart charging station mall system" platform to conduct pyramid selling (2020-2022). Demonstrates how new technology/business models are used as cover.

3. **Other cases** in the set involved investment-return schemes, fake public welfare fronts, and new e-commerce models.

Key patterns across all 5 cases: high-return investment promises, fee-based membership qualification, hierarchical organization, recruitment-based compensation. The cases were deliberately selected to show enforcement against diverse new-format pyramid schemes.

### Source 12: 2024 Six Companies Penalized by SAMR

NetEconomy Society (100ec.cn) documented 6 specific administrative penalty cases in 2024:

| # | Company | Penalty | Date |
|---|---------|---------|------|
| 01 | 广州依本生物科技有限公司 | 7万元 fine | 2024-02-21 |
| 02 | 鹤壁市开发区理视康保健服务中心 | 60万余元 confiscated+fined | — |
| 03 | 永乐优选（广东）科技有限公司 | 129万余元 (79万 confiscation + 50万 fine) | 2024-02-28 |
| 04 | 广州麦戈儿科索贸易有限公司 | 50万元 fine | — |
| 05 | 南通社群空间网络科技有限公司 | 120万元 fine | 2024-04-16 |
| 06 | 未来店（广东）网络科技有限公司 | 50万元 fine | 2024-04-22 |

Note that Company #1's 7万元 fine is below the statutory minimum of 50万元, suggesting application of discretionary lighter punishment (possibly voluntary cooperation, small scale, or first offense). The other 5 cases fall within the statutory 50-200万 range.

## Gaps

1. **Full text of the 2026 proposed revision**: The revision is "推动修订" but the draft text has not been publicly released. Cannot assess specific changes to the "团队计酬" definition or tier limits.

2. **WeChat's exact tier enforcement mechanism**: While WeChat's general policy is known, the specific technical implementation of tier monitoring in merchant review forms (《商户业务模式自查报告》) could not be fully accessed.

3. **花生日记 rectification details**: The specific operational changes made by 花生日记 after the 2019 penalty (beyond public statements) are not fully documented in accessible sources.

4. **云集 post-listing compliance model**: How 云集 operates its distribution model post-2019 NASDAQ listing, specifically how it maintains compliance with Chinese law while operating multi-level incentives.

5. **2025-2026 specific enforcement case details**: Many 2025 cases are referenced but full penalty decisions are not publicly accessible, particularly for social e-commerce platforms.

6. **Provincial-level enforcement variation**: Significant variation exists between provinces in enforcement intensity and standards (e.g., Shandong 成武 "趋利执法" controversy in August 2024 where a county-level SAMR allegedly demanded 2100万 from a company). Systematic analysis of this variation is not available.

7. **Direct comparison with US/EU pyramid selling standards**: While the ResearchGate academic paper exists, it is access-restricted. A comparative analysis of China's approach vs. FTC/Kelly Koscot test would strengthen the legal framework understanding.

8. **WeChat video account (视频号) specific rules**: The exact tier limits and enforcement mechanisms for video account-based distribution are not clearly documented.
