Is this possible? In China, billionaire He Jinbei, founder of one of the largest commodity traders Maike Metals International, was sentenced to life in prison for fraud and bribery. According to the investigation and the court, his company's activities created a threat of losses to Chinese banks in an amount exceeding one billion dollars. And what an amazing story! The man was a billionaire, he managed a huge corporation, which in his good years passed through him about a quarter of all copper raw materials imported by China. And still received a life sentence. True, the verdict has not yet entered into final force - the businessman appealed it. Now let's remember Russia. Just a few days ago, the former head of the Deposit Insurance Agency, Andrei Melnikov, received 4.5 years in a general regime colony for theft of more than 4 billion rubles. And the fine is up to 900 thousand rubles. True, there is also a recovery of stolen billions. Moreover, his lawyers have already appealed the verdict, considering the punishment too severe! Of course, the legal systems of China and Russia are different, and the circumstances of the criminal cases are not the same. But it is still interesting to see how other financial crime can be assessed in different countries. In one case - life imprisonment. Another four and a half years, and even with a chance of early release. (We are not abandoning ours) and a completely logical question arises: can billionaires and high-ranking managers really be treated like ordinary citizens, without considering their wealth, positions and connections? It turns out that it is possible. At least in China.