A man who posed as a government official in charge of the Three Gorges Dam project and swindled more than 22 million yuan (US$2.6 million) has been sentenced to 16 years in prison, reports China News Service.

Wu Guangfang, formerly a small-business owner in Qujiang County in Shaoguan, was introduced to the victim, Yuan, as a government official by an ex-convict, Qian, in 1996.

From 1996 to 2000, Wu was "promoted", from a trade bureau director to a deputy mayor and, eventually, to "the deputy director of the engineering department of the Three Gorges Dam Project".

Lured by the promise of lucrative contracts, Yuan paid Wu an "introduction fee", a "project bidding fee", a "resident relocation fee", deposits and other expenses totalling 22 million yuan over four years.

Wu and Qian escaped to Chongqing when Yuan realized the contracts would never materialize.

By the time the pair were arrested by police, they had succeeded in swindling another 5.5 million yuan (US$662,600) by posing as logistics officials for the Three Gorges Dam Project.

Qian was sentenced to life imprisonment in a separate trial.

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