To be sued for usury, it is necessary to prove that the creditor's rights and debts can be repaid within a reasonable interest range. The law does not prohibit private lending, but it prohibits high-interest lending. Although usury is not a crime, it is illegal, and the court only protects a reasonable interest range. If you are sued, you need to prove the appropriateness of your actions, protect your legitimate interests as much as possible, and take the initiative to explain your mistakes. The court will handle it as appropriate according to the actual situation.

Legal analysis

The interest rate of private loans is relatively high. If the loan interest rate is higher than that stipulated by law, it will be deemed as usury. Lenders who borrow usury will face great repayment pressure and will be sued by usury. If they are sued by loan sharks, if the annual interest rate stipulated in the loan contract is less than 24, they will be protected by law. If the lender has the right to ask the borrower to pay the interest at the agreed annual interest rate of 24-36, the parties concerned shall appeal to the court to protect the interest in this range according to the contract, and the court will not protect it. However, if the parties voluntarily pay and demand return, the court will also reject the application. Therefore, even if sued by usury, the legitimate principal should be returned, but the court will not support the payment of the high-interest part. If the lender requests the borrower to pay interest at the interest rate agreed in the contract, the people's court shall support it, except that the interest rate agreed by both parties exceeds 4 times the market quotation of one-year loan at the time of the establishment of the contract.

legal ground

Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Private Lending Cases

Article 25 If the lender requests the borrower to pay interest at the interest rate agreed in the contract, the people's court shall support it, except that the interest rate agreed by both parties exceeds four times the market quotation of one-year loan at the time of the establishment of the contract. The "one-year loan market quotation" mentioned in the preceding paragraph refers to the one-year loan market quotation issued monthly by the National Interbank Funding Center authorized by the People's Bank of China from August 20th, 20th, 20th19th.

Article 26. The loan amount specified in debt certificates such as IOUs, receipts and IOUs is generally recognized as the principal. If interest is deducted from the principal in advance, the people's court shall confirm the actual amount lent as the principal.

Article 27 After the borrower and the borrower settle the loan principal and interest in the early stage, the interest shall be included in the loan principal in the later stage, and the creditor's rights certificate shall be reissued. If the interest rate in the early stage does not exceed four times the market quotation of the one-year loan when the contract is established, the amount specified in the reissued creditor's rights certificate can be confirmed as the loan principal in the later stage. The overcharged interest shall not be used as the loan principal in the future. According to the calculation in the preceding paragraph, if the sum of the principal and interest that the borrower should pay after the expiration of the loan term exceeds the sum of the interest of the whole loan term based on the initial loan principal and calculated according to the market quotation of the one-year loan at the time of the establishment of the contract, the people's court will not support it.