Charity and Voluntary Sector
CC: The Mariam Appeal received significant donations connected with improper transactions made under the oil-for-food programme, a Charity Commission inquiry has reported. In accepting these funds, the Commission found the trustees were not sufficiently vigilant and did not properly discharge their legal duties regarding these donations.
The inquiry, opened in December 2005, sought to ascertain:
- whether funds resulting from contracts made under the UN oil-for-food programme were donated to the Appeal
- if so, to establish what was the legal status of those funds, and
- to examine the extent to which the trustees of the Appeal properly discharged their duties and responsibilities in receiving those funds
The Mariam Appeal was founded in 1998 to provide medicines, medical equipment and medical assistance to the people of Iraq and to arrange for the medical treatment of Iraqi children outside Iraq.
The Appeal is not on the central register of charities, has not operated since early 2003, has no active trustees and holds no assets requiring the protection of the Commission. Overall, the Commission is satisfied that the funds received by the charity were spent on the charity's humanitarian purpose. In these circumstances, the regulatory action the Commission has taken is the publication of its findings.
Press release ~ Charity Commission - Mariam Appeal ~ Q&A: George Galloway and the Mariam Appeal - The Guardian ~ George Galloway’s reaction to Charity Commission report into Mariam Appeal - Socialist Worker
