A public bounty notice has brought a three-year search for involved equipment to a successful conclusion, with the informant receiving the promised 60,000 yuan reward. The Yuelu District People's Court in Changsha recently leveraged an execution bounty mechanism to break through a case previously stalled by "no discoverable property and no trace of the debtor," marking a significant achievement in the court's ongoing "termination cleanup" special campaign this year.

The case stemmed from a financial leasing contract dispute. Chen had signed an agreement with a financial leasing company, under which Chen selected the supplier and construction equipment, and the company purchased the machinery before leasing it back to Chen. This "financing plus equipment" model is intended as a convenient commercial channel to help individuals and businesses unlock assets and alleviate financial strain. However, shortly after the equipment was delivered and put into use, Chen breached the agreement unilaterally and subsequently vanished without a trace.

After repeated notices went unanswered, the leasing company filed a lawsuit with the Yuelu District Court. The court ruled in favor of the plaintiff, ordering Chen to pay over 2 million yuan in rent, penalties, and other fees. Following the judgment, execution proceedings were initiated upon application. Document service and asset freezing proceeded in parallel, accompanied by inclusion on the dishonesty list and restrictions on high consumption. Yet, after multiple rounds of enforcement, the debtor remained untraceable, and no executable assets were found under his name.

With conventional enforcement measures exhausted, the case was forced into a stalemate, leading the court to lawfully issue a "termination" (end of current execution proceedings) ruling. "Termination does not mean giving up; it's a temporary pause," said execution judge Hu Changyu. While people can disappear and assets can be secretly transferred, large construction equipment presents unique challenges—its sheer size, relatively fixed operating sites, and the difficulty of relocating make it hard to completely erase traces of its use. As long as the equipment continues to operate, it will eventually surface.

"A 60,000 yuan reward will be paid to any informant who provides previously unknown property leads that result in full or partial execution of the judgment!" In June this year, the leasing company submitted an execution bounty application to the court, marking a turning point in the case. Within two months of the bounty announcement, tip calls poured in, with a mix of genuine and false leads. The team verified, dismissed, re-verified, and re-dismissed, experiencing the tug-of-war between hope and disappointment.

Then came a sudden phone call: a similar piece of construction equipment was spotted operating at a quarry in Qidong. After carefully comparing the photos provided by the informant—model, appearance, operating environment—all details matched with high precision, strongly suggesting the lead was credible and actionable. The execution team rushed overnight to Qidong, requesting coordinated support from the local court. After five days and nights of stakeout and investigation, the equipment was lawfully seized, achieving a breakthrough in the three-year hunt.

Once the equipment was secured, the court swiftly initiated the bounty payment process. The leasing company paid the 60,000 yuan reward to the informant as agreed. According to officials, the Yuelu District Court has been advancing its "termination cleanup" special campaign through multiple measures including execution resumption, cross-court execution, bankruptcy-execution coordination, and judicial assistance, systematically reviewing and categorizing outstanding terminated cases for targeted resolution. Among these, the execution bounty mechanism has played an indispensable role in revitalizing pending cases and driving substantive case closures.