First of all, MLM is qualitative. According to the Regulations on Prohibition of MLM, MLM refers to the behavior of organizers or operators to develop personnel, calculate and pay remuneration to the developed personnel on the basis of the number of personnel or sales performance directly or indirectly developed by them, or require the developed personnel to obtain the qualification to join on the condition of paying a certain fee, so as to seek illegal interests, disrupt economic order and affect social stability.
Two, the punishment of pyramid selling behavior is mainly divided into two aspects: administrative punishment and criminal punishment:
1. In terms of administrative punishment, according to the MLM Prohibition Ordinance:
1), who commits the acts specified in Article 7 of these Regulations and organizes or plans pyramid schemes, the administrative department for industry and commerce shall confiscate the illegal property and illegal income and impose a fine of not less than 500,000 yuan but not more than 2 million yuan; If a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility shall be investigated according to law.
2) Whoever commits one of the acts specified in Article 7 of these regulations, introduces, lures or coerces others to participate in pyramid schemes, shall be ordered by the administrative department for industry and commerce to stop the illegal act, confiscate the illegal property and illegal income, and be fined between 654.38 million yuan and 500,000 yuan; If a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility shall be investigated according to law.
3) Anyone who participates in pyramid schemes in the acts specified in Article 7 of these Regulations shall be ordered by the administrative department for industry and commerce to stop the illegal acts and may be fined up to 2000 yuan.
4) When the administrative department for industry and commerce punishes in accordance with the provisions of Article 24 of these regulations, it may, in accordance with the provisions of relevant laws and administrative regulations, order it to suspend business for rectification or revoke its business license.
5) Those who provide business premises, training places, sources of goods, storage and other conditions for pyramid selling activities stipulated in Article 7 of these regulations shall be ordered by the administrative department for industry and commerce to stop the illegal acts, confiscate the illegal income and impose a fine of 50,000 yuan to 500,000 yuan.
6) Those who provide Internet information services for pyramid selling activities specified in Article 7 of these Regulations shall be ordered by the administrative department for industry and commerce to stop the illegal acts and notify the relevant departments to be punished according to the Measures for the Administration of Internet Information Services.
2. In terms of criminal punishment, according to the provisions of the Criminal Law, criminals who constitute the crime of organizing and leading pyramid selling activities should generally be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years or criminal detention and fined; If the circumstances are serious, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years and fined.
Prohibition of MLM regulations
Article 2 The term "pyramid selling" as mentioned in these Regulations refers to the act that the organizer or business developer calculates and pays the remuneration of the developed personnel on the basis of the number of personnel directly or indirectly developed by the organizer or business developer, or requires the developed personnel to obtain the qualification to join on the condition of paying a certain fee, so as to seek illegal interests, disrupt economic order and affect social stability.
Article 7 The following acts belong to pyramid selling:
(1) The organizer or operator, through the development of personnel, requires the developed personnel to develop other personnel to join, and calculates and pays remuneration (including material rewards and other economic benefits, the same below) to the developed personnel based on the number of personnel directly or indirectly developed, so as to seek illegal benefits;
(2) The organizer or business operator, through the development personnel, requires the developed personnel to pay the fees or pay the fees in disguised form by subscribing for commodities, etc. , so as to obtain the qualification to join or develop other personnel to join and seek illegal interests;
(3) The organizer or business operator requires the developed personnel to develop other personnel to join, thus forming an online relationship, and calculating and paying online rewards according to the sales performance of offline personnel to seek illegal benefits.
Twenty-fourth acts stipulated in Article 7 of these regulations, the organization of pyramid schemes, the administrative department for Industry and Commerce shall confiscate the illegal property, confiscate the illegal income, and impose a fine of 500 thousand yuan to 2 million yuan; If a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility shall be investigated according to law.
Whoever commits the acts specified in Article 7 of these regulations, introduces, lures or coerces others to participate in pyramid schemes, shall be ordered by the administrative department for industry and commerce to stop the illegal acts, confiscate the illegal property and illegal income, and impose a fine of more than 654.38 million yuan and less than 500,000 yuan; If a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility shall be investigated according to law.
Anyone who participates in pyramid schemes in the acts listed in Article 7 of these regulations shall be ordered by the administrative department for industry and commerce to stop the illegal acts and may be fined up to 2000 yuan.
Article 25 When the administrative department for industry and commerce imposes penalties in accordance with the provisions of Article 24 of these regulations, it may, in accordance with the provisions of relevant laws and administrative regulations, order it to suspend business for rectification or revoke its business license.
Article 26 Whoever provides business premises, training places, sources of goods, storage and other conditions for pyramid selling activities stipulated in Article 7 of these regulations shall be ordered by the administrative department for industry and commerce to stop the illegal act, confiscate the illegal income and impose a fine of not less than 50,000 yuan but not more than 500,000 yuan.
Those who provide Internet information services for pyramid selling activities stipulated in Article 7 of these regulations shall be ordered by the administrative department for industry and commerce to stop the illegal acts and notify the relevant departments to be punished in accordance with the Measures for the Administration of Internet Information Services.
criminal law
Article 224-1 Any organization or leader who, in the name of business activities such as selling goods and providing services, requires participants to obtain membership qualification by paying fees or purchasing goods and services, forms a hierarchy in a certain order, directly or indirectly lures or coerces participants to continue to develop pyramid schemes in which others participate, defrauds property and disrupts economic and social order, and is also fined; If the circumstances are serious, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years and fined.