US-based aid group says around $900,000 stolen by employees in Congo

By SAM MEDNICK
Associated Press

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — An American-based aid group says approximately $900,000 was stolen from its Congo programs by members of the organization who conspired with outside actors. GiveDirectly said that it learned that people on its Congo team worked with those outside the organization to defraud the cash transfer program and diverted aid from more than 1,700 impoverished families over six months. The group said Monday that the fraud started in August 2022. More than 1% of money delivered last year was lost to fraud. Analysts say Congo’s decades-long crisis and widespread poverty have fueled an environment ripe for corruption among aid organizations.