The World Bank Somehow Lost Track of at Least $24 Billion

Imagine if humanity decides it doesn’t have enough amusement parks. All the world’s nations announce they will be financing new ones across the planet. Bankers stand next to models of future parks and hand comically large loan checks to the developers. It’s not nearly enough to end the global amusement-park crisis, but they still win accolades and shareholder approval for doing their part.

But then, years later, we discover some of the proceeds of these loans weren’t spent on amusement parks at all but on whoopee-cushion factories and speedboats. Others did go to amusement parks but were wildly over budget. These supposed answers to our amusement-park prayers weren’t quite what they seemed. How could anybody trust amusement-park financing again?