(Yicai Global) Dec. 28 -- Two luxury golf courses owned by business conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group at Changbai Mountain, the northeastern Jilin Province, were illegally operating for a long time with the help of the local government before being shut down in October, said an investigation report released by China's environment ministry yesterday.

Wanda illegally constructed two golf courses and 93 villas in violation of regulations during the implementation process of Wanda Group's Changbai Mountain International Ski Center project, and operated them for a long time, the investigation found. The environment ministry has also criticized the local provincial government for turning a blind eye to the violation.

China's environment ministry and central regulators have made considerable efforts to rectify the project since 2011, but the local government obstructed such efforts on various occasions and even tried to cover it up, claimed finance.qq.com, a financial news portal under Tencent Holding's messaging app qq, in a report yesterday.

The luxury golf courses were a key part of Wanda Group's Changbai Mountain Resort, which was established in 2008 with an investment of CNY26 billion (USD3.9 billion). Golf courts, ski center, business malls and spa centers are the core facilities of the resort.

After receiving the ministry's demand for rectification in 2011, the local government in Jilin province insisted repeatedly that the golf courses have been suspended and removed, the report said. However, these golf courses even hosted a Chinese golf tournament in June. They were only shut down in October.

Wanda Group took a tough stance during the business negotiations with the local government ahead of the project construction, the report quoted an insider as saying. It even demanded that the local government should take responsibility and compensate for losses if the golf courses are banned or fined, it added.