Recently, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, together with the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security, and the State Administration for Market Regulation, jointly deployed and carried out in-depth special rectification of fraud by third-party environmental protection service agencies. All localities and departments are required to give full play to their functional advantages, unite their work efforts, and further increase the intensity of supervision of third-party institutions through the investigation and handling of a number of major cases, the punishment of a number of illegal and criminal elements, and the exposure of a number of typical cases, consolidate the results of special rectification, maintain market order, and earnestly promote the deepening and solidification of special rectification work.
On August 8, 2024, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) announced six typical cases in the field of cracking down on fraud by third-party institutions, and commended the Ecological Environment Bureau of Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, Xiamen Ecological Environment Bureau of Fujian Province, Jiangjin District Ecological Environment Bureau of Chongqing Municipality, Qidong Ecological Environment Bureau of Nantong City, Jiangsu Province, Jinan Ecological Environment Bureau of Shandong Province, and Dongguan Ecological Environment Bureau of Guangdong Province. Typical cases announced this time include:
1. Case of Hebei Congrui Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd. issuing a false environmental monitoring report
【Brief Facts of the Case】
In December 2023, law enforcement officers of the Shijiazhuang Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment combed through the list of third-party institutions that have been punished in accordance with the law for issuing false environmental monitoring reports in recent years, and found that Hebei Congrui Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Congrui Company) was punished 9 times by the ecological environment departments of Shijiazhuang, Handan, Baoding and other places in 2023. After verification, Congrui's false reports were issued between 2022 and 2023, and after being administratively imposed by the local ecological environment department twice on January 9 and June 16, 2023, the false report was issued on July 6, and the Shijiazhuang Ecological Environment Bureau was again administratively punished on August 16.
After preliminary research and judgment, Congrui Company's illegal acts meet the criminal prosecution situation of "receiving two administrative penalties for providing false supporting documents within two years, and then providing false supporting documents". The Shijiazhuang Bureau of Ecology and Environment launched the "execution" connection mechanism, and promptly carried out case consultations with the public security organs, and conducted exchanges and discussions on the investigation and collection of evidence, transfer and handling, and knowledge of the application of relevant laws, so as to provide support for rapid response and precise crackdown.
Law enforcement personnel conducted on-site investigations and inquiries and collected relevant evidence materials
【Investigation and Punishment】
According to the relevant provisions of the Amendment (11) to the People's Republic of China Criminal Law and the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Environmental Pollution, Congrui Company is suspected of constituting the crime of providing false supporting documents.
On January 26, 2024, the Shijiazhuang Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment transferred the case to the Yuhua Branch of the Shijiazhuang Municipal Public Security Bureau for filing and investigation. On June 8, the public security organs transferred the five suspects involved in the case to the Yuhua District People's Procuratorate of Shijiazhuang City for review and prosecution.
【Enlightenment Significance】
Accurate and authentic ecological environment monitoring data is an important support for ecological environment management. In order to obtain illegal benefits, a small number of third-party institutions have crossed the legal red line by adopting fraudulent methods, carrying out monitoring activities in violation of regulations, and repeatedly investigating and repeating offenders without repentance. In this case, the Shijiazhuang Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment combed through the administrative punishment information, focused on the targets of multiple violations, dug deep and thoroughly investigated the clues of the problem, and gave full play to the role of the "execution" connection mechanism in view of the situation of fraud in many places, closely cooperated and planned with the public security organs, fixed the evidence of violations and crimes, and provided practical experience for handling criminal cases of fraud by third-party institutions.
2. Case of Xiamen Kailixin Testing Technology Co., Ltd. issuing false environmental monitoring reports
【Case Introduction】
In September 2023, the law enforcement officers of the Zhangzhou Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment conducted an on-site inspection of an enterprise and found that the sampling time of the self-monitoring report entrusted by the enterprise to Xiamen Kailixin Testing Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Kailixin Company) was inconsistent with the display time of the surveillance video in the factory area, and there were illegal acts of not implementing sampling and falsifying monitoring data. After receiving the relevant information, the Fujian Provincial Ecological and Environmental Protection Comprehensive Law Enforcement Corps found out the number of salesmen and business coverage of Kailixin Company from the whole province, and preliminarily judged that there was a mismatch between business capacity and business volume, and then handed over the relevant clues to the Xiamen Municipal Ecological Environment Bureau to carry out special investigation.
On March 27, 2024, a task force formed by several law enforcement officers, monitoring backbones and data experts conducted a surprise inspection of Kailixin Company, checking and checking the monitoring reports, sampling records, experimental analysis data and related equipment and instruments one by one. From January 2022 to March 2024, a total of 205 false monitoring reports were issued to 75 pollutant discharge units in 5 prefectures and cities in the province, and the amount of bank receipts was preliminarily found to be more than 530,000 yuan, which was preliminarily judged to meet the conditions for criminal liability of "illegal gains of more than 300,000 yuan".
Law enforcement officers carried out on-site investigation and questioning, and checked the original data stored in the testing equipment and computers
【Investigation and Punishment】
According to the relevant provisions of the "Amendment (11) to the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China" and the "Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Environmental Pollution", Kailixin Company is suspected of constituting the crime of providing false supporting documents.
On July 15, 2024, the Xiamen Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment transferred the case to the Jimei Branch of the Xiamen Municipal Public Security Bureau, and the public security organs launched an investigation on the same day. At present, the case is under further investigation.
【Enlightenment Significance】
Environmental monitoring data is an important starting point to help units find environmental management problems in a timely manner and improve the level of environmental management. A small number of third-party institutions have contracted business beyond the scope of their capabilities to help enterprises achieve "false standards", which has seriously damaged the effectiveness of pollution prevention and control. In this case, the ecological and environmental law enforcement personnel at the Fujian and municipal levels expanded the scope of investigation, established a "1+N" special class mechanism integrating law enforcement, monitoring and data analysis, and dug deep into hundreds of fraudulent reports from one fraudulent report, breaking the traditional and inefficient evidence collection model, and realizing the effective transformation of the fight against monitoring data fraud from a single point to a multi-faceted operation.
3. Chongqing Zhonghan Environmental Protection Technology Research Institute Co., Ltd. committed fraud in environmental service activities
【Brief Facts of the Case】
On October 27, 2023, law enforcement officers from the Ecology and Environment Bureau of Jiangjin District, Chongqing Municipality conducted an on-site inspection of a liquor company in Chongqing and found that the company entrusted Chongqing Zhonghan Environmental Protection Technology Research Institute Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Zhonghan Company) to carry out self-monitoring of pollutant dischargers on a monthly basis. However, the two monitoring reports issued by Zhonghan Company on June 20 and July 20, 2023 used three identical on-site sampling pictures, and the law enforcement officers immediately decided to further inspect and monitor the production of pollutant dischargers on that day. After investigation, on July 20, 2023, Zhonghan Company fabricated false monitoring data, falsified the monitoring sampling time and the signature of the person in charge of the pollutant discharge unit when the liquor industry Co., Ltd. did not carry out production, and issued a false monitoring report.
Law enforcement officers found the same photo used in the two monitoring reports at the scene, and immediately launched an investigation and questioning
【Investigation and Punishment】
In accordance with the first and second paragraphs of Article 45 of the "Chongqing Environmental Protection Regulations", the second paragraph of Article 101 of the "Chongqing Environmental Protection Regulations", and the relevant provisions of Article 5 of the "Chongqing Ecological and Environmental Administrative Punishment Discretionary Standards", the Chongqing Jiangjin District Ecological Environment Bureau made an administrative penalty decision on Zhonghan Company in accordance with the law, fining it 131,666 yuan, and at the same time fining the main person in charge of Zhonghan Company 29,125 yuan.
【Enlightenment Significance】
Fabricating false monitoring data out of thin air and falsifying on-site monitoring and sampling data to cover up the fact of on-site sampling is a "common trick" of illegal third-party institutions, which seriously interferes with post-permit supervision and daily law enforcement activities. In this case, the law enforcement officers of the Chongqing Jiangjin District Ecology and Environment Bureau found clues of fraud from the seemingly normal monitoring reports by carefully checking the monitoring reports and the production records of the enterprise, strictly investigated and punished the illegal acts, and imposed "double penalties" on the third-party institutions and their responsible persons, forcing the third-party institutions to abide by the law and self-discipline, standardize their development, and promote the creation of a fair and orderly market environment.
Fourth, Qidong Quantong Motor Vehicle Inspection Co., Ltd. issued a false inspection report
【Brief Facts of the Case】
On April 17, 2024, the law enforcement officers of the Nantong Qidong Ecological Environment Bureau received a report from the Nantong Municipal Ecological Environment Bureau, and some people reported that Qidong Quantong Motor Vehicle Inspection Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the all-access company) was suspected of having a motor vehicle exhaust detection substitute inspection. Law enforcement officers immediately carried out off-site inspections through the Jiangsu Provincial Environmental Monitoring Motor Vehicle Exhaust Supervision System, and found that the company had two motor vehicle exhaust detection lines, and most of the vehicles reflected in the report were indeed inspected and tested by the company, which caused law enforcement officers to be highly vigilant. The law enforcement officers further obtained the daily operation of the company, determined the peak hours of its daily inspection and testing, fixed the illegal evidence for the first time, and immediately formulated a surprise inspection plan.
After investigation, a three-way valve is installed on the detection and sampling pipe of the exhaust gas detection line of Quantong Company and three pipelines are connected, one pipeline is connected to the analyzer, one pipeline is connected to the exhaust gas sampling probe, and one pipeline extends to the west wall of the testing workshop. When the motor vehicle cannot pass the exhaust gas test, the inspector inserts one end of the sampling pipe into the exhaust pipe of the qualified vehicle parked outside the west wall of the testing workshop in advance, and then twists the three-way valve to connect the exhaust gas emitted by the qualified vehicle to the analyzer to replace the unqualified motor vehicle through the exhaust gas test.
Law enforcement personnel inspect the inspection records of the testing line, and collect evidence on the spot for illegally setting up "through-wall" sampling tubes
【Investigation and Punishment】
In accordance with the first paragraph of Article 54 and the first paragraph of Article 112 of the People's Republic of China Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law and the relevant provisions of the Provisions on the Discretionary Criteria for Administrative Punishment of the Ecological Environment of Jiangsu Province, on July 9, 2024, the Nantong Qidong Ecological Environment Bureau made an administrative penalty decision on Quantong Company, confiscating 480 yuan of illegal gains and fining 175,000 yuan.
【Enlightenment Significance】
In recent years, the number of motor vehicles in mainland China has maintained rapid growth, and the emission of pollution from mobile sources has become increasingly prominent. In this case, in accordance with the requirements of the special rectification work of fraud and fraud by third-party environmental protection service agencies, the Nantong Qidong Ecological Environment Bureau actively broadened the channels for finding and sorting out the problem clues, fully excavated the "gold mine" of clues on the people's petition reports, used big data and off-site supervision methods to carry out verification, collected evidence and investigated at the first time, and severely cracked down on the fraud and non-standard detection behavior of motor vehicle detection, so that the "black tail" of the mobile source had no way to escape, further standardize the order of the industry, and help the green and healthy development.
5. Case of Jinan Xincheng Motor Vehicle Testing Co., Ltd. issuing false emission inspection reports
【Brief Facts of the Case】
On December 26, 2023, when the joint inspection team composed of the Jinan Municipal Ecological Environment Bureau, the Public Security Bureau, and the Market Supervision Bureau inspected Jinan Xincheng Motor Vehicle Inspection Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Xincheng Company), it was found through the inspection line surveillance video that on October 11, 2023, when a full-time four-wheel drive gasoline vehicle was tested by the double idle method, there was visible black smoke, but Xincheng Company issued a qualified inspection report, which attracted the attention of the joint inspection team. Through the review of the surveillance video of the past 1 year, it was found that on November 1, November 29, and December 13, 2023, Xincheng Company used the loading and deceleration method to detect three light diesel vehicles, and issued a qualified inspection report in the case of visually visible black smoke.
Law enforcement officers found abnormalities by reviewing the surveillance video of the detection line and collected evidence
【Investigation and Punishment】
In accordance with the first paragraph of Article 54 and the first paragraph of Article 112 of the People's Republic of China Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law and the relevant provisions of the Discretionary Benchmark for Administrative Punishment of Ecological Environment in Shandong Province (2022 Edition), the Jinan Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment made an administrative penalty decision on Xincheng Company, confiscated 600 yuan of illegal income, and fined 100,000 yuan.
【Enlightenment Significance】
As a key link in the control of mobile pollution sources, motor vehicle inspection institutions will severely crack down on illegal acts such as installing cheating software or equipment, tampering with test data, and issuing false emission inspection reports in accordance with the law, which is conducive to promoting the standardized development of the motor vehicle inspection and testing market. In this case, the departments of ecology and environment, public security and market supervision of Jinan City gave full play to their joint efforts, established a joint mechanism, jointly carried out law enforcement inspections, enhanced inter-departmental exchanges and cooperation, and made specific practices for jointly cracking down on fraud and illegal acts of motor vehicle inspection and testing institutions.
Sixth, Dongguan Zhongya Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd. environmental impact assessment documents fraud
【Brief Facts of the Case】
In April 2022, the Dongguan Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment verified the clues assigned by the superior and found that in August 2020, Dongguan Zhongya Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Zhongya Company) prepared the "Environmental Impact Report Form of Construction Project" for a technology company in Dongguan City (hereinafter referred to as a technology company), in which the noise monitoring data is exactly the same as the data in the "Environmental Impact Report Form of Construction Project" prepared by Zhongya Company for a hardware company in Dongguan City (hereinafter referred to as a hardware company). After investigation, in the process of compiling the "Environmental Impact Report Form of Construction Project" of a science and technology company, Zhongya Company did not organize on-site monitoring, did not issue a noise monitoring report, and directly copied the content of the current situation of sound environment quality in the "Environmental Impact Report Form of Construction Project" of a hardware company in the chapter of environmental impact assessment, and only modified the date of noise monitoring, and the monitoring data and other contents were completely consistent.
The EIA preparation unit has not actually monitored and issued similar content to the current status of environmental quality in the EIA
【Investigation and Punishment】
According to the provisions of Article 20, Paragraph 1 and Article 32 of the Environmental Impact Assessment Law of the People's Republic of China, on June 21, 2022, the Dongguan Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment fined Zhongya Company 60,000 yuan, confiscated 12,000 yuan of illegal gains, banned the EIA preparation host and main compiler from engaging in the preparation of environmental impact reports (forms) for five years, fined a technology company 500,000 yuan, and fined the person in charge 50,000 yuan. At the same time, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Measures for Scoring Untrustworthy Behaviors of Units and Compilers of Environmental Impact Reports (Forms) of Construction Projects (Trial), Zhongya Company, the host and main compilers of the EIA will be scored for untrustworthiness respectively, and will be included in the blacklist of the environmental impact assessment credit platform. Zhongya Company, the presiding officer and the main compiler of the EIA filed an administrative lawsuit, requesting that the penalty decision made against it be revoked. On April 12, 2023, the First People's Court of Dongguan City issued an administrative judgment rejecting all litigation claims.
【Enlightenment Significance】
The environmental impact report (form) of the construction project is the basic carrier for the implementation of the environmental impact assessment system and the primary starting point for the implementation of environmental access. Some EIA preparation units and construction units do not conduct evaluations based on the truth, copy and plagiarize, and seriously disrupt the order of EIA management. In this case, the Dongguan Municipal Bureau of Ecology and Environment strengthened supervision through big data analysis and technical review, improved the ability to detect problems, and imposed "double penalties" on the construction unit and its responsible person, the EIA preparation unit and the EIA preparation personnel in accordance with the law, effectively deterring the EIA fraud and illegal acts.
Source: Ministry of Ecology and Environment