If you’re being sued or have a court order against you, report all your assets truthfully and repay as much as you can — don’t transfer your house or money to relatives, friends, or companies

There is no cost involved. Simply report your assets as required by the court: list everything you currently own and everything you acquired in the year prior to receiving the enforcement notice. Pay off whatever debts you can. If you can’t pay in full, negotiate a settlement or installment plan with the creditor.

The transfer of property itself is a circumstance that constitutes a crime. The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress has provided an interpretation of Article 313 of the Criminal Law. The interpretation directly lists "the judgment or ruling becomes unenforceable due to the judgment debtor hiding, transferring, intentionally destroying property, or transferring property without compensation, or transferring property at an obviously unreasonable low price" as "refusing to execute despite having the ability to execute, with serious circumstances." Hiding money, transferring money, intentionally smashing one's own belongings, giving things away for free, or selling them at a low price to make a judgment unenforceable all count. The 2024 interpretation by the Two Highs (the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate) added ten more items. These include disposing of one's own property rights through fake settlements or fake transfers. It also includes using an obviously unreasonable high price to purchase someone else's property or acting as a guarantor for someone else's debt. These are all ways of intentionally emptying one's assets that could be used to repay debts. The crime of refusing to execute is punishable by up to 3 years. In particularly serious cases, the punishment is 3 to 7 years and a fine. "Particularly serious" refers to these circumstances: obstructing execution through false litigation, false arbitration, or false notarization; gathering a crowd to attack an execution site; besieging, detaining, or assaulting execution personnel; or causing the applicant for execution to commit suicide or self-harm due to the refusal to execute. Outsiders who are not parties to the case, but who know the situation and collude with the party to help hide or transfer money, shall be dealt with as accomplices of the crime of refusing to execute. Illegally disposed property shall be recovered or returned/compensated according to law. If the transfer is initiated after the defendant receives the notice of litigation but before the judgment takes effect, it also counts. In civil matters, for free transfers or obviously unreasonable low-price transfers, the creditor may request the court to revoke the transfer. For refusing to report or falsely reporting property, the court may impose a fine of up to 100,000 yuan for individuals. Detention of up to 15 days may also be imposed (Nationwide, per the Two Highs interpretation effective from December 2024).

全国人大常委会 (2002). 关于《中华人民共和国刑法》第三百一十三条的解释. https://www.gov.cn/gongbao/content/2002/content_61738.htm；最高人民法院、最高人民检察院 (2024). 关于办理拒不执行判决、裁定刑事案件适用法律若干问题的解释（法释〔2024〕13 号，第三、四、五、六、八、十一、十二条）. 最高法发布页，全文核对自广东省广州监狱转载. https://www.court.gov.cn/fabu/xiangqing/447931.html、http://gzjy.gd.gov.cn/zxxx/content/post_4608108.html；全国人大常委会 (2015). 刑法修正案（九）（第三十九条，修改刑法第三百一十三条）. https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/fl/201802/t20180205_364562.shtml；全国人大 (2020). 民法典（第五百三十八、五百三十九、五百四十条）. https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/fl/202006/t20200602_463888.shtml；全国人大常委会 (2023 修正). 民事诉讼法（第一百一十四、一百一十八、二百五十二条）. 贵州省市场监管局转载：https://amr.guizhou.gov.cn/zwgk/xxgkml/jcxxgk/zcfg/fl/202401/t20240129_83645867.html

The commonly shared advice online — such as “put your house in a company’s name to use as employee housing” or “transfer all your money to relatives” — isn’t a loophole; it’s precisely the kind of conduct singled out in judicial interpretations. Relatives, friends, or companies aiding such actions are treated as accomplices, and any assets involved must be recovered. Conversely, if you truly have no money, this crime does not apply. To determine whether you “have the ability to repay but refuse to do so,” necessary living expenses for you and your dependents must first be deducted. If you repay part or all of the debt before prosecution and your circumstances are relatively minor, prosecution may be waived. Repaying the debt prior to a first-instance judgment may also lead to a lighter sentence or even exemption from punishment. For guidance on what to do after being placed on a blacklist or having spending restrictions imposed, see item 21; instructions on how to regain good standing after fulfilling obligations are provided in Section 7, item 19.