Stealing 20000 virtual currency
According to the news on February 10, 2018, on September 4, 2017, seven ministries and commissions of the people's Republic of China issued the notice on preventing the financing risk of token issuance, which regulates the issuance of tokens. In the notice, the nature of all kinds of tokens and "virtual currency" is clearly defined: it is not issued by the monetary authority, and it has no monetary attributes such as legal compensation and mandatory, It does not have the same legal status as currency and cannot and should not be used as currency in the market. Nevertheless, it is undeniable that all kinds of "virtual currency" still have a certain property value and are part of the property of the holder. So, how to identify the nature of the theft of such tokens
In order to protect the legitimate rights and interests of "virtual token" holders, the author intends to discuss such issues through a relevant news report and relevant casesstealing bitcoin
recently, a news report said that Haidian police in Beijing cracked a case of destroying computer information system. The suspect Zhong used his administrator's authority to modify the company's computer applications and steal 100 bitcoins. Before he could sell the stolen money, Zhong was arrested by the police. At present, Zhong was detained for the crime of destroying computer information system
it can be seen from the report that the police detained the perpetrator for stealing bitcoin on suspicion of damaging the computer information system. The crime of destroying the computer information system stipulated in Article 286 of the criminal law of our country refers to the act of deleting, modifying, adding or interfering with the functions of the computer information system in violation of the provisions of the state, resulting in the abnormal operation of the computer information system and serious consequences, or deleting, modifying or interfering with the data and application programs stored, processed or transmitted in the computer information system Modifying or adding operations with serious consequences, or deliberately making or spreading destructive programs such as computer viruses, which affect the normal operation of the computer system with serious consequences
In the author's opinion, this crime is one of the crimes of impairing social management order in Chapter 6 of the criminal law, that is, the legal interest protected by this crime is actually the public order of our society, not the property interests of the digital currency holders, which in fact denies the property value of digital currency, It is only protected as a data or system function in a computer system. The author thinks that there is some irrationality in this wayfirst of all, in the notice on the prevention of bitcoin risk issued in 2013, it is mentioned that bitcoin is not a real currency because it is not issued by the monetary authority and does not have such monetary attributes as legal compensation and compulsion. Bitcoin has four main characteristics: no centralized issuers, limited amount, no geographical restrictions and anonymity. Because it belongs to a specific virtual commodity in nature The notice also clearly mentioned that bitcoin does not have the same legal status as currency and should not be used as currency in the market. However, as a virtual commodity, the property value behind bitcoin cannot be ignored
Secondly, Article 127 of the general provisions of the civil law, which came into effect on October 1 last year, stipulates that if the law has provisions on the protection of data and network virtual property, such provisions shall prevail. Although only the protection of the network virtual property has made the principle provisions, but it can not be denied that this shows our country's attitude towards the protection of the network virtual property. Although there is no special law for the protection of data and network virtual property in China, from the perspective of the general provisions of civil law, it is predicted that there will be relevant legislation in the futurefinally, from the relevant cases, we can also see the recognition of the property attribute of virtual currency such as bitcoin in China's judicial practice. In April and may 2013, Liu premeditated to set up a bitcoin trading platform, so he recruited Jin and Huang (both sentenced) to jointly set up a "bitcoin" trading platform. During this period, Liu, Huang, Jin, Jin and the defendant he, in addition to other acts of directly stealing customers' funds, also frequently cashed RMB by selling customers' bitcoins, and transferred 120 bitcoins from the website. Finally, the court convicted and punished the defendant for fraud, and the bitcoin transferred by the defendant was also included in the property loss of the victim. Therefore, from the judicial cases, we can also get the recognition of the property attributes of virtual currency such as bitcoin
based on the above reasons, the author thinks that it may be unreasonable to regulate the theft of virtual currency only as the crime of damaging computer information system. We should face up to the hidden property value and consider the application of the crime of infringing property in China's criminal law. Only in this way can we effectively protect the legitimate rights and property of digital currency holders in China
the most popular team of Dahan coin Ruide in the market
from the perspective of China's criminal law, "property" as a crime of theft is not only limited to physical property, but also intangible property, such as electricity, gas and so on. Both tangible and intangible objects have common characteristics, that is, the general public agree that they have value, and the value can be objectively measured
as for the meaning of online virtual property, the notice of the Ministry of culture and the Ministry of Commerce on strengthening the management of online game virtual currency, which was implemented on June 4, 2009, defines online game virtual currency: it is issued by online game operation enterprises, and game users use legal currency to purchase it directly or indirectly in a certain proportion, which exists outside the game program, It is a virtual exchange tool, which is stored in the server provided by online game operators in the form of electromagnetic recording and expressed in specific digital units. Online game virtual currency is used to exchange the online game services provided by the issuing enterprise within a specified scope and within a specified time. It is expressed in the form of prepaid recharge card, prepaid amount or points, but does not include the game props obtained in the game activities
from the above definition, we can see that the network virtual property has the following obvious characteristics: value specificity, a certain network virtual property can only exist in the game running on a specific server, can not be placed in other games, without a specific game, there is no value; The existence of its economic value depends on whether the players subjectively believe that it has use value and whether it can actually achieve transactions between different players in the same game; The value difference is different for different players, but it has no value for non players
from the perspective of China's criminal law, "property" as a crime of theft is not only limited to physical property, but also intangible property, such as electricity, gas and so on. But no matter they are tangible or intangible, they all have common characteristics, that is, the general public agree that they have value, and the value can be objectively measured. In contrast, the network virtual property is obviously different from the "property" in the criminal law of our country, which does not conform to the concept of public and private property in the general sense of public cognition. The legal attribute of network virtual property is actually computer information system data, a virtual exchange tool, which can not be the object of theft< In addition, according to the principle of a legally prescribed punishment for a specified crime, only those who are prescribed as crimes by law can be treated as crimes, while those who are not prescribed as objects of crimes by law cannot be treated as objects of crimes. At present, China's criminal law and previous judicial interpretations on larceny have made clear provisions on "public and private property", but the network virtual property has not been interpreted as the object of larceny
from the definition and attributes of network virtual property, the essence of the legal attribute of network virtual property is electromagnetic records, that is, electronic data. The act of stealing network virtual property is fully in line with the constitution of the crime of illegally obtaining computer information system data stipulated in article 285 of the criminal law. The application of this crime is enough to objectively and comprehensively evaluate the nature of the act< It is difficult to identify the value of network virtual property
■ judicial observation
as for how to identify the value of network virtual property, there is no unified and universally recognized calculation standard in the theoretical and judicial circles
first of all, the current judicial interpretation does not stipulate how to determine the value of network virtual property, and there is no clear basis for its determination in judicial practice, so there will be disputes in determining its value anyway; Secondly, in the objective sense, network virtual property itself has no value, and its value can only be determined when players trade, which is difficult to be identified from an objective point of view; Thirdly, the value of network virtual property can only exist in a specific server and a specific player, which is separated from a specific server and lost the so-called value. There are different values for different players, so it is difficult to have a unified calculation standard; Finally, it is not objective to identify the value according to the repair cost or expected income paid by the server operator e to theft
therefore, defining the act of stealing network virtual property as theft will bring a series of problems to the determination of the amount. In the absence of a unified and objective calculation method of the amount and the determination of the crime of illegally obtaining computer information system data, it is not appropriate to interpret network virtual property as "property" in theft
from the perspective of overseas criminal legislation and justice, it is rare to treat the theft of network virtual property as theft. The theoretical circle and judicial practice of Italian criminal law do not recognize that the act of stealing virtual property constitutes the crime of theft stipulated in Italian criminal code. It follows the principle of style interpretation and forbids to expand the interpretation of "property", including information data. As for the infringement of network virtual property, the Italian criminal code has set up a section after the traditional crime. Although there are cases in the criminal judicial practice of Japan that determine the crime of using electronic computer to defraud virtual property, it stipulates the special crime of "using electronic computer to defraud" after the traditional crime of fraud. The general theory of Japanese criminal law also believes that the fictitious property does not belong to the crime object of theft stipulated in the Japanese criminal code
in 2003, the criminal code of Taiwan deleted the provision that electromagnetic records were set as movable property in 1997, and the provisions on stealing electromagnetic records are applicable to computer crimes such as obtaining computer information system data
in conclusion, according to the special nature of network virtual property, it does not have the property attribute in the sense of criminal law. Based on the principle of legality, the theft of network virtual property can not be regarded as theft, but can be punished as the crime of illegally obtaining computer information system data.
learned from the Xi'an Municipal Public Security Bureau's opening branch recently that the "3. 30" network hacker theft virtual currency case was broken down nearly half a year, and 3 suspect suspects were all arrested. The initial investigation found that the gang involved in the case reached 600 million yuan. p>
on March 30, 2018, the economic development branch of Xi'an Public Security Bureau received an alarm from the victim Zhang, claiming that his personal computer was suspected to have been illegally intruded, and a large number of virtual currencies such as bitcoin and Ethereum were looted, with a market value of over 100 million yuan. The Municipal Public Security Bureau quickly set up a special group to carry out the detection work
has been examined by the 3 suspects as hacker. Many illegal gains have been obtained through illegal invasion, control of company's enterprise and personal network system, and the amount of suspect involved has reached 600 million yuan. At present, the case is still under further investigation
on April 3, 2013, the Supreme People's court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate issued 15 interpretations on the application of law in handling criminal cases of theft, which came into force on April 4
those who steal public or private property in a relatively large amount, or repeatedly steal, enter the house, steal with lethal weapons or pick pocketing, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention or public surveillance, and shall also, or shall only, be fined
if the amount is huge or there are other serious circumstances, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 3 years but not more than 10 years and shall also be fined
if the amount is especially huge or if there are other especially serious circumstances, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years or life imprisonment, and shall also be fined or be sentenced to confiscation of property
the standards of "large amount", "huge amount" and "especially huge amount" of theft of public and private property are as follows:
1. If the value of personal theft of public and private property is between 500 yuan and 2000 yuan, it is "large amount"
2. If an indivial steals public or private property with a value of 5000 yuan to more than 20000 yuan, it is "huge amount"
3. If an indivial steals public or private property with a value of 30000 yuan to more than 100000 yuan, the amount is "extremely huge"
the higher people's courts of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government may, according to the economic development situation of the region and taking into account the social security situation, respectively determine the standards of "large amount", "huge amount" and "especially huge amount" implemented in the region within the amount range specified in the preceding paragraph.
2. If the offender is a first-time offender, has no criminal record or any other circumstances, he is generally sentenced to four years' imprisonment
3. If a recidivist has a bad attitude to plead guilty, he is usually sentenced to six years' imprisonment
4. If there are circumstances such as voluntary surrender and meritorious service, the general sentence is about three years' imprisonment
attachment: Article 264 of the criminal law of the people's Republic of China
whoever steals public or private property in a relatively large amount or repeatedly shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention or public surveillance and shall also, or shall only, be fined; If the amount is huge or if there are other serious circumstances, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than 10 years and shall also be fined
Article 264 of the criminal law stipulates that whoever steals public or private property in a relatively large amount or repeatedly shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention or public surveillance, and shall also, or shall only, be fined; If the amount is huge or if there are other serious circumstances, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than 10 years and shall also be fined; If the amount is especially huge or if there are other especially serious circumstances, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years or life imprisonment and shall also be fined or have his property confiscated< At the same time, according to Article 3 of the interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues concerning the specific application of law in the trial of theft cases, the standards for "large amount", "huge amount" and "especially huge amount" of theft of public and private property are as follows:
(1) if the value of personal theft of public and private property is between 500 yuan and 2000 yuan, it is "large amount"
(2) if an indivial steals public or private property with a value of 5000 yuan to more than 20000 yuan, it is "huge amount"
(3) personal theft of public or private property with a value of 30000 yuan to more than 100000 yuan is regarded as "extremely large amount"
therefore, stealing the company's equipment and articles is worth 20000 yuan, which is a "huge amount" and will be "sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than 10 years and a fine;"< The so-called "l" is l pending trial. According to the law, the conditions for l pending trial are as follows:
1; 2. It is possible to be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment or more, and to be on l, which will not cause social danger; 3. Women who should be arrested according to law, but should not be arrested because they are suffering from serious diseases or are pregnant or breast-feeding their own babies; 4.. Has questioned and detained suspects who have been detained according to law, and suspect that they need arrest but lack of evidence. 5. the suspects and defendants who have been arrested and arrested can not be closed within the time limit of statutory investigation detention, examination, prosecution, first instance and second instance. The method of l pending trial is not harmful to society. 6.. May be a suspect who holds valid passports or other valid exit documents, but may not be arrested.
if one of the above conditions is met, you can apply to the public security organ.