CCTV construction head allegedly took bribes

The executive in charge of construction at CCTV allegedly received US$11,694 from the company whose fireworks destroyed the building that was to house the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and killed one fireman, the South China Morning Post reported, citing Caijing magazine. The magazine said the investigation into the February fire found indications of both derelication of duty and corruption. The Beijing procuratorate said no signs of corruption had been found but a Caijing source said Xu Wei, head of CCTV’s construction office and its deputy chief engineer, admitted to derelication of duty and economic problems with the construction tendering process for the project. The headquarters project was thought to cost about US$730.93 million, but according to Caijing’s investigation, the project initially received US$1.12 billion worth of investment in 2001. Up to February, the total investment for construction alone was US$1.75 billion, and another US$1.02 billion was for new equipment.