【Epoch Times March 22, 2026 News】 The scandal surrounding Mei Xiangrong, the head of Yingke Law Firm, one of China’s large law firms with nearly 20,000 practicing lawyers, continues to escalate.
Recently, there has been an online rumor that, confirmed by official investigation, between 2021 and 2025, Mei Xiangrong allegedly transferred approximately 3.87 billion yuan of law firm revenue (including lawyer service fees, client deposits, etc.) to related enterprises under his control through methods like falsifying agreements and fabricating service items. This led to around 1.24 billion yuan of investor principal being unable to be repaid.
According to a report by “China News Weekly” on March 21, the Jing’an Branch of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau has not officially confirmed the specific data mentioned above.
Though the exact amount involved has not been clarified, internal issues have arisen within Yingke Law Firm regarding delayed extraction of lawyer fees. Zhao Chunyu, Vice Chairman of the Board and Director of the Beijing Committee of Yingke China, posted in an official WeChat group that “due to objective factors, there have been delays in short-term withdrawals from the law firm.”
Several lawyers from different branches have reported obstacles in extracting lawyer fees at present. A lawyer from a Yingke branch, Zhang Heng (pseudonym), mentioned that the fees prior to the Mei Xiangrong incident are currently unable to be withdrawn from the firm. “Currently, many lawyers within our branch are feeling anxious as we do not understand the true financial situation of the branch.”
He further stated that the branch management has not provided clear explanations regarding key issues such as potential misappropriation of lawyer fees, the amount involved, and specific operational methods.
As the situation unfolds, various Yingke branches in different locations have issued announcements adjusting the extraction arrangements for lawyer fees: Yingke Guangzhou stated that new withdrawal methods for lawyer fees received by March 16 will be notified soon; Yingke Nanjing announced that methods for withdrawing fees received from March 1 to 15 will be updated, while the remaining withdrawals and reserves will be subject to adjustments depending on the financial situation.
Some lawyers from Yingke branches have mentioned a reduction in the reserve amount for deposited guarantee funds from 10% to 5% at their branch. The withdrawal period for newly received lawyer fees has also changed from monthly to weekly.
On the night of March 10, a network chat screenshot revealed Mei Xiangrong’s involvement in “using lawyer fees for financing and assuming guarantee responsibilities,” with funds exceeding 4 billion yuan.
In the late hours of March 11, Yingke Law Firm announced that Mei Xiangrong had stepped down from all positions, attributing the incident to issues stemming from his family’s business ventures, which are unrelated to the firm’s practices. The firm assured that all its business activities are continuing as usual.
A report by “The Beijing News” mentioned that on the evening of March 13, during a revisit to Yingke International Law Building in Shanghai, the office area of Shanghai Yingke Enterprise Management Co., Ltd. related to Mei Xiangrong’s financing and guarantee controversy, was found deserted with lights off, the entrance locked with a chain, and tables and chairs in disarray with scattered papers on the floor.
A property staff member on-site revealed that the related company office area had been sealed off.
On the same day, an informed source disclosed that Mei Xiangrong had surrendered to authorities in Shanghai, but the exact amount of funds involved was uncertain.
It is worth noting that Mei Xiangrong had been questioned by the police last year to promptly address the fund repayment issues, but substantial progress has yet to be made.