Dam leaks US$120m

Jin Wenchao, a senior construction manager on the Three Gorges Dam project in China, has gone into hiding after it was alleged in the South China Morning Post that he defrauded US$120 million over the last six years. He was arrested last year but subsequently released. The world’s largest hydroelectric dam project has been plagued by corruption but the latest disclosures suggest that it is worse than previously thought; last year auditors estimated misappropriation to be US$60 million. Officials are accused of operating lower than agreed safety and environmental standards and siphoning off the resultant savings.