The 'Deadbeat' Behind the Reward Notice: Accused of Concealing Assets and Suspected False Litigation, Police Have Intervened

As of June 27, the number of dishonest persons subject to enforcement published on China’s Enforcement Information Disclosure Network has exceeded 8.63 million, and this number is still changing.

Over the past three years, the Supreme People’s Court has continuously published typical cases of punishing “debt evasion,” steadily improving the adjudication rules and enforcement measures to combat debt evasion, aiming to create a favorable legal environment.

However, solving the problem of “deadbeats” evading debts is no easy feat. Some dishonest judgment debtors have the money but refuse to repay, using every means to dodge debts and transfer assets, creating significant obstacles for debt recovery enforcement. Offering rewards for property leads and giving informants incentives has become a common approach.

In February this year, the Chongqing First Intermediate People’s Court issued a reward notice, soliciting property leads from the public regarding the judgment debtor Chen Jindi, bringing this businessman, long active in Zhuji, Zhejiang Province, back into the public eye.

Having been on the list of dishonest enforcement targets for five years, Chen Jindi has become, in the eyes of many creditors, a “veteran” deadbeat with a reward on his head — quite a typical case.

Chen Jindi, now in his sixties, has been in the department store and commercial real estate business for many years and is a well-known local businessman. After 2017, he and his Xiongfeng Group were repeatedly taken to court for defaulting on bank loans.

According to court enforcement information, Chen Jindi is involved in 26 published judicial documents related to financial loan contract disputes. He has been listed as a judgment debtor in 22 cases and as a person subject to consumption restrictions in 18 cases. The creditor banks involved in his loans include about 20 state-owned and local commercial banks. According to incomplete statistics from creditors, Chen Jindi’s outstanding debts may amount to around 2 billion yuan.

Trapped in a debt vortex, Chen Jindi has been maneuvering skillfully in his game with banks and courts in recent years. A creditor’s lawyer pointed out that Chen Jindi still effectively controls large shopping malls and other assets, but uses methods such as transferring and concealing assets, shareholding by proxy, and false litigation to maliciously evade debts.

In response to accusations of false litigation and refusal to enforce court judgments against Chen Jindi, police in Shaoxing Yuecheng and Zhuji have launched investigations. Recently, a The Paper reporter called Chen Jindi multiple times but received no answer; as of press time, Chen Jindi had not replied to the reporter’s interview text messages.

Defaulted on Bank Loans and Listed as Dishonest, Restricted in 18 Cases

In late June 2026, lawyer Li Shenglan received an enforcement ruling from the Zhejiang Provincial High People’s Court. As the authorized representative of the creditor, he believes this ruling further proves the facts of Chen Jindi’s alleged false litigation.

“He doesn’t completely lack money or assets, but evades debts through various means,” Li Shenglan said.

Chen Jindi, who started in the electrical appliance business, founded the Xiongfeng Group in the early 2000s, venturing into department stores and commercial real estate, extending his business reach from Zhejiang to Chongqing and beyond. Taking out bank loans was his shortcut to funding. For instance, his effectively controlled Chongqing Xiongfeng Department Store Plaza Company obtained hundreds of millions of yuan in bank loans over several years.

After 2017, Chen Jindi was gradually drawn into lawsuits initiated by banks seeking debt recovery.

In May 2017, due to a 20 million yuan loan from Hengfeng Bank Shaoxing Sub-branch, Chen Jindi’s Xiongfeng Group was ordered by the court to bear joint and several liability. Over the following two years, Xiongfeng Group was separately ordered by courts to bear joint and several liability for loans issued by Huaxia Bank Shaoxing Branch, Wenzhou Bank Hangzhou Branch, Nanjing Bank, and Ping An Bank Hangzhou Branch.

In 2020, Chen Jindi and Xiongfeng Group were sued by Bank of Communications Zhuji Sub-branch, ICBC Zhuji Sub-branch, and CCB Zhuji Sub-branch (twice) for defaulting on bank loan principal, with amounts of 49.49 million yuan, 41.9 million yuan, 48.5 million yuan, and 76.1 million yuan respectively.

In 2021, the court ordered Xiongfeng Group to repay 14 million yuan in principal to Hengfeng Bank Shaoxing Sub-branch; in 2022, Chongqing Xiongfeng Department Store Plaza Company was ordered to repay about 280 million yuan in loan principal to Agricultural Bank of China Beibei Sub-branch.

A The Paper investigation found that Chen Jindi and Xiongfeng Group are involved in 26 published financial loan case documents, effective between 2017 and 2021.

Information from the China Enforcement Information Disclosure Network shows Chen Jindi has been listed as a judgment debtor in 22 cases, 17 of which have disclosed unfulfilled obligations totaling over 900 million yuan.

According to incomplete statistics, about 20 banks are involved in Chen Jindi and Xiongfeng Group’s outstanding debts, including Bank of China, China Merchants Bank, SPD Bank, Bank of Jiangsu, China Zheshang Bank, and Zhuji Rural Commercial Bank.

Li Shenglan said his comprehensive statistics from various creditors show Chen Jindi and his controlled enterprises owe over 1.7 billion yuan in financial loans, and with interest, approximately 2 billion yuan.

In August 2021, Chen Jindi was added to the list of dishonest enforcement targets by the Shaoxing Yuecheng District Court. Additionally, Chen Jindi has been listed as a person subject to consumption restrictions in 18 enforcement cases.