When dealing with many companies, the lawyers of Zhejiang Qunheng Law Firm found that many companies were in trouble because of internal management problems. Among them, the problem of major shareholders embezzling the company's property is not uncommon, which not only damages the company's interests, but also seriously infringes on the rights and interests of minority shareholders. Faced with this situation, how should minority shareholders protect their rights?
The lawyers of the corporate law team of Zhejiang Qunheng Law Firm gave their own views:
First of all, minority shareholders should have a sense of rights protection.
Many minority shareholders hold shares in the company, but often lack knowledge of the company's operating conditions and management, which gives the majority shareholders an opportunity to take advantage of it. Therefore, minority shareholders should always pay attention to the company's dynamics, understand the company's operating conditions, and take timely measures to protect their rights and interests once they find that major shareholders have embezzled the company's property.
Second, minority shareholders can take legal action to protect their rights.
If the misappropriation of the company's property by the majority shareholder has already occurred, the minority shareholder can file a lawsuit with the court to demand compensation from the majority shareholder. In the course of litigation, the minority shareholder needs to collect relevant evidence to prove that the majority shareholder has indeed embezzled, and ask the court to impose legal sanctions on the majority shareholder. In addition, minority shareholders can also seek legal assistance through a lawyer to better protect their rights and interests.
In addition to legal means, minority shareholders can also protect their rights through other channels. For example, minority shareholders can report the behavior of major shareholders to the company's regulatory authorities, and request the regulatory authorities to investigate and deal with the major shareholders. In addition, minority shareholders can also attract social attention and pressure through the behavior of major shareholders, and force major shareholders to correct their wrong behaviors.
Of course, the road to defending rights has not been easy. Minority shareholders may encounter various difficulties and obstacles in the process of protecting their rights, such as insufficient evidence, high litigation costs, and difficulties in enforcement. However, minority shareholders should not give up defending their rights because of this, but should strengthen their confidence and bravely face difficulties. At the same time, minority shareholders should also actively seek support and assistance, such as jointly defending their rights with other minority shareholders and seeking help from professional institutions.
Finally, in order to prevent the occurrence of the problem of major shareholders misappropriating the company's property, minority shareholders should strengthen corporate governance and supervision at the source. For example, we will improve the company's internal management system, strengthen the functions of the board of directors and the board of supervisors, and improve the transparency of information disclosure. Through these measures, the problem of misappropriation of the company's property by major shareholders can be effectively prevented, so as to protect the rights and interests of minority shareholders from being violated.
Civil cause of action: Dispute over liability for damage to the interests of the company.
Criminal cause: Embezzlement or misappropriation of funds.