Footballer welcomes forensic investigation

Former Chelsea striker, Didier Drogba, has reacted angrily to claims by the Daily Mail that only £14,115 of the £1.7m donated to his charity, the Didier Drogba Foundation, has gone to help causes in Africa. Threatening legal action against the “false and defamatory” claims, the Ivorian said he welcomed a forensic investigation that would show he is not guilty of any wrongdoing.

Many people think that forensic investigations are only undertaken to find evidence against alleged miscreants but they are equally useful in proving innocence, as forensic accountants are completely impartial and are only concerned with what has actually happened. Therefore, Mr Drogba will no doubt be consulting these experts, as he now faces an investigation by the Charity Commission over “serious regulatory concerns”.

The Charity Commission said it had opened a case to assess "concerns about the administration of the charity” and the oversight provided by trustees, all of whom appear to live abroad. It went on to say that the charity has raised and accumulated significant sums of money that have not yet been spent and that further information is required over the plans to spend those funds. In its opinion, these issues merit further investigation, although it added that it was at the early stages of its inquiry.

In the article, the Mail claimed that £439,321 was spent putting on lavish fundraising parties attended by celebrities, and that more than £1m languished in bank accounts rather then being spent on charitable activity. However, the Montreal Impact player said he had spent his own sponsorship earnings first and planned to use UK fundraising money for future projects.

For advice on how forensic accountants can assist you, please contact us today.

Author: Roger Isaacs, 29 April 2016

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