Beware of Common Tactics to Evade Debt Execution

Deep News
Nov 17

The longstanding issue of enforcing effective civil judgments involves a complex interplay between claimants and debtors within judicial processes, as well as the determination of courts in execution. Despite legal deterrents like penalties for refusing to comply with judgments, debtors frequently employ tactics such as hiding or transferring assets, fabricating debts or lease agreements, substituting secured interests, or exploiting bankruptcy reorganization procedures.

These practices highlight the need for claimants to recognize evasion strategies early and take legal action, while enforcement authorities must uphold justice by discerning deceptive maneuvers to prevent irreversible losses to creditors.

**Common Evasion Tactics: Asset Transfers and Fabricated Debts** Debtors often transfer valuable assets to associates at no cost or unreasonably low prices to feign insolvency. Others collude with related parties to dilute legitimate claims through fabricated litigation or arbitration awards.

For instance, in a 2020 Hangzhou Intermediate Court case [(2020) Zhe 01 Zhi Yi 123], a machinery company attempted to evade a ¥5 million debt by transferring its 35% stake in an affiliate to its legal representative’s relative for "zero yuan." The court revoked the transfer, ruling it a deliberate act to harm creditors. Notably, creditors must act within a one-year limitation period to challenge such transfers.

In another case [(2021) Su 05 Zhi Fu 78], a Jiangsu construction company inflated liabilities by fabricating an ¥8 million debt during enforcement. The court dismissed the claim as fraudulent and referred the matter to police.

**Exploiting Bankruptcy to Stall Enforcement** Recent years have seen debtors abuse bankruptcy pre-reorganization to delay enforcement. For example, in a Fujian case, Soon Lian Real Estate (Wuhan) Development Co. ("Soon Lian") contested asset seizures while filing for pre-reorganization in another court, freezing enforcement of two Supreme Court judgments totaling ¥380 million.

After courts sealed 421 properties and accounts, Soon Lian argued excessive seizures and secured the release of a guarantor’s collateral. Concurrently, its pre-reorganization filing triggered an automatic stay under bankruptcy law, stalling creditor recovery.

**Shareholder Asset Stripping: A Hidden Scheme** In a Supreme Court case [(2019) Zui Gao Fa Min Zhong 1093], a Hainan real estate firm transferred core assets to a subsidiary, leaving itself insolvent. The court pierced the corporate veil, holding shareholders liable for ¥200 million in debts due to asset depletion and commingled finances.

**Key Takeaways for Creditors** These cases illustrate evasion through asset transfers, corporate abuse, fake priorities, and procedural manipulation. Winning a judgment is merely the first step; vigilant enforcement—via preemptive asset preservation, thorough tracing of funds, and legal countermeasures—is critical to ensuring court rulings translate into actual recovery.

Creditors must proactively investigate shareholder misconduct, leverage discovery tools, and pursue legal remedies to dismantle evasion tactics and uphold the enforceability of judgments.

Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.

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