Government ministers froze funding to a charity led by David Miliband after it silenced 37 sex abuse, fraud and bribery allegations, it has been claimed.
The International Rescue Committee, which is headed by the former Labour foreign secretary, was given millions in taxpayers’ cash before the allegations were made.
A team from the IRC was sent to probe claims of wrongdoing in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Yet a leaked report from the Department of International Development (Dfid) shows the funding to the charity was cut after ‘direct reporting of sexual harassment and fraud’.
International Rescue Committee Chief Executive David Miliband speaks during a Reuters Newsmaker event at the Thomson Reuters building in New York City, May 29, 2015
A Dfid spokesman told The Sun: ‘DFID became aware of serious allegations relating to this programme in August 2016.
‘The Department acted swiftly to ensure the reported misconduct was fully and comprehensively addressed by the IRC and relevant authorities.’
Mr Miliband left politics and joined the IRC in 2013 shortly after losing the Labour leadership election to his brother Ed. He remains in the post today.
He is mentioned by name in the report, although there is no suggestion he is involved in any alleged wrongdoing.
Although it is not established when any alleged wrongdoing occurred, Dfid was made aware of the claims in 2016, during Mr Miliband’s tenure at the IRC.
A source told The Sun: ‘The Government was aware of this, they withheld money because of the allegations so they certainly knew about some of them.
‘It’s completely wrong the charity has tried to cover it up to the public. I have seen the Oxfam story but there are still others trying to hide it.’
In the financial year to September 2016, DFID gave £92million to the IRC, making up 64 per cent of all the UK-based donations to the group. In 2015, £76million was given by Dfid to the charity.
A sum of £5.4million in taxpayers money was recovered although exactly how or what that was spent on has not been revealed.
The IRC’s own records claim the humanitarian crisis in Syria, the reconstruction programme in the Democratic Republic of Congo and providing humanitarian assistance to refugees in Greece were among the reasons for the boost in funding from 2015 to 2016.
Among some of the projects the charity embarked upon in the Democratic Republic of Congo was the Girls Education Program that aimed to ‘help up to a million of the world’s poorest girls improve their lives through education’.
The IRC’s money was frozen following a number of allegations, and the charity’s ethic and compliance unit arrived in Africa to investigate 24 cases. Upon their arrival, a further 13 cases were opened. Some investigations are thought to be ongoing.
An IRC spokeswoman said: ‘The IRC followed good practice, reporting allegations to donors, conducting investigations and providing reports to donors and local authorities.’
A Charity Commission spokesperson said: ‘The Charity Commission has not seen a copy of an International Rescue Committee report from January 2017 regarding allegations about sexual harassment, fraud or bribery in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
‘We will be contacting the International Rescue Committee UK to seek further clarification on this as a matter of urgency.’
David Miliband was mentioned by name in the report, although there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing. Miliband (pictured) addresses the Institute of Directors convention at the Royal Albert Hall in London in October, 2015
The Daily Mail revealed two years ago that Mr Miliband was paid an estimated £407,000 to run the New York based charity, where he promised to use its donations ‘wisely and efficiently’. For that handsome sum he is said to work just 37 and a half hours a week.
The IRC defended the CEO’s salary. In a statement, it stressed the salary was set by a compensation committee attached to the board of directors.
It added: ‘Over 92 percent of all our donations go directly to life-saving and essential programmes across the world. The IRC is one of the best-value charities in the world.’
The Clooneys are enthusiastic backers of his charity as are Sir Paul McCartney, Blondie singer Debbie Harry and actress Susan Sarandon.