Veteran striker, Didier Drogba has revealed that his foundation has been cleared of any fraud and financial wrong doing by the UK Charity Commission.
The UK Charity Commission launched an investigation into the Didier Drogba Foundation following a Daily Mail report that funds donated to the foundation have been misapplied.
Daily Mail in April 2016 reports that £439,321 was spent putting on lavish fundraising parties attended by his friends and celebrities, and more than £1m languished in bank accounts.
The UK news platform also reports that only one clinic has been built by the foundation in Cote d’Ivoire which is currently not in operation and empty.
After seven months of investigation, the UK Charity Commission clear the foundation the allegations.
“We have been able to satisfy our most serious concerns in relation to the charity by confirming that funds have not been misapplied and that all funds raised in the English charity’s name have been held by the English charity,” the UK Charity Commission said in a report.
“We are also able to confirm that we found no evidence of fraud or corruption on behalf of the charity.”
Reacting to the report, Drogba took to his Twitter to thank those who have supported him throughout the investigation.
“The Charities Commission has today confirmed after a seven-month investigation, that no funds have been misapplied by my Foundation,” Drogba wrote on Twitter.
“They have confirmed that there has been no financial wrongdoing, no fraud and no corruption.
“I am pleased that this supports what we always said from the start, that the claims made by the Daily Mail back in April were entirely false.”
After being vindicated, Drogba is now seeking damages and an apology from Daily Mail who are insisting that they never alleged corruption in their report.
“I have instructed my lawyers to seek a full apology and damages to be paid to my Foundation from the Daily Mail,” the 38-year-old striker wrote.
Despite not finding any evidence of foul play, the Charity Commission was, however, critical of the foundation for failing to separate its activities from those of an Africa-based arm of the organisation.
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