14 Officials Held Accountable in Henan Over $13.7M Farmland Project Fraud
Chinese authorities in Sheqi County, Henan Province, have launched an accountability investigation against 14 officials over allegations that a nearly 100 million yuan (approximately USD 13.7 million) high-standard farmland improvement project was illegally split into roughly 100 sub-projects and subcontracted to unqualified construction teams, according to The Paper.
The Sheqi County Joint Working Group announced on July 9 that the county’s Discipline Inspection Commission has initiated accountability procedures against the officials, while two criminal suspects have been taken into custody. The announcement came after an investigative report by Huashang News (Dafeng News) exposed widespread irregularities in the Zhuji Township project.
Background and Project Details
The high-standard farmland (gaobiao zhun nongtian) improvement project in Zhuji Township was awarded in 2019 to Henan Guangyu Construction Group with a winning bid of 96.157 million yuan and a contracted construction period of 365 days. The project was part of China’s national initiative to create stable, high-yield agricultural land through land consolidation and infrastructure improvement.
According to the investigation, the project was allegedly taken over by an individual surnamed Tian (田某), who borrowed Guangyu Company’s construction qualifications to secure the bid. Tian then split the nearly 100 million yuan project into approximately 100 small lots. Construction teams were assembled at a project office on Zhuji Township’s main street and drew lots to determine which sections they would build, as reported by Phoenix News.
A “Site Manager Contact Directory” obtained by reporters listed 73 lots, including 40 road teams, 6 bridge and culvert teams, 13 machine-well teams, 7 large-well teams, and 7 land-consolidation teams. Some construction teams paid money to obtain lots from Tian, with one contractor surnamed Zhang reporting that he paid 105,000 yuan (approximately USD 14,400) to secure a lot.
Infrastructure Failures
Journalists who visited the site found that many pumping stations and large wells lacked pumps and piping. Of 12 pumping stations inspected on-site, only one was usable. Some electric meters for machine wells showed only one kilowatt-hour of usage, suggesting they were never used. Villagers reported that expensive water supply tanks and pumping stations had been sitting unused for years.
A villager surnamed Wang from Lianzhuang Village told reporters: “We’ve reported it so many times. Such expensive water supply tanks and pumping stations have been sitting there for years, unusable.”
The Sheqi County Water Resources Bureau expert Zhang defended the project, stating that some pumps are mobile and would rust or be stolen if left in pumping stations. He also noted that the project’s purpose extends beyond grain crops to include vegetables and tobacco leaves, suggesting that “the common people may not necessarily understand this project.”
Zhuji Township Police Station reported over 90 cases of theft of irrigation equipment and cables between September 2020 and May 2026. However, journalists noted that the number of facilities found without pumps (nearly 20) exceeded the 11 police reports specifically mentioning pump theft.
Legal Violations and Official Connections
Beijing Zeheng Law Firm attorney Hu Lei characterized the case as involving illegal affiliation and dismemberment-style illegal subcontracting, violating the mandatory provisions of the Construction Law and the Bidding Law. The case is directly linked to the downfall of former Sheqi County Party Secretary Yu Guangdong, who was expelled from the Party and removed from public office on May 13, 2026, for serious disciplinary violations including accepting bribes in exchange for project contracting, as announced by the Henan Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection.
Guangyu Company’s representative Lian confirmed that Tian was not affiliated with the company and stated that the project was assigned to Tian by a county leader. “The local authorities pressured us to the point where we had no choice. This is how the government has always done things,” Lian said.
Broader Anti-Corruption Context
This case is part of a broader nationwide anti-corruption push targeting high-standard farmland construction. The 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection’s 5th Plenary Session in early 2026 specifically deployed the rectification of high-standard farmland construction issues, as reported by Beijing Daily.
In Henan Province, the provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection conducted a comprehensive “dragnet” inspection of 1,981 high-standard farmland projects initiated since 2019, identifying 17,000 problems and pushing for immediate rectification of 5,776 issues, according to the Henan Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection.
Remedial Actions and Forward Look
As of the announcement, Zhuji Township has repaired 8 irrigation pumping stations and 6 large-diameter wells, with repairs to remaining problematic facilities accelerating. The case raises questions about systemic oversight failures, as the project passed two levels of government quality inspection — the Sheqi County Natural Resources Bureau approved the project’s quality on December 9, 2020, and the Nanyang City Natural Resources and Planning Bureau rated it as “basically qualified” on January 29, 2021 — despite significant infrastructure problems.
The full payment of 99,340,846.13 yuan was made by the developer Xinghua Company by June 24, 2020, meaning taxpayers funded a project where a significant portion of irrigation infrastructure remains non-functional. The accountability of 14 officials signals that authorities are treating this as a systemic rather than individual failure, but questions remain about the specific roles each official played and the current status of the criminal investigation into the two detained suspects.