Audit Charges Brazilian Red Cross with Embezzlement

07/25/2014 - 09h10

The Brazilian Red Cross has embezzled money from humanitarian fundraising, an audit from the International Federation of Red Cross Societies, whose headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland, has found.

According to the investigation donations made to a fund for rescuing victims of the conflicts in Somalia, to the tsunami in Japan and to flood victims in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro were all embezzled.

The figures -US$ 95,000 derived from the first two campaigns and US$ 723,000 from the last - were passed on to Instituto Humanos, an NGO that belongs to the mother of the then vice-president of the organization, Anderson Marcelo Choucino.

A sum of US$ 236,000 of the donations ended up in investment funds and went missing after that.

In Brazil, the organization is divided between the national Red Cross (the main office) and dozens of branches across Brazil's states and municipalities.

According to its statute, each branch has managerial autonomy from the central office, which is in turn autonomous from the international federation.

Instituto Humanus has its headquartes in São Luís, capital of Maranhão state, and is registered under Alzira Quirino da Silva's name, Choucino's mother.

According to the audit, Humanus has received US$ 7 million overall from the Red Cross between 2010 and 2012 without providing third party service receipts for this period.

Because documents were missing from the assessed branches - ten were investigated across the country - the audit was not able to establish the origin of the sum that was transferred to Instituto Humanus.

THE OTHER SIDE

Rosely Sampaio, president of the Brazilian Red Cross, has said the audit report will be taken to court so that the embezzlement charges can be investigated.

"We will have the Prosecution Office examine the allegations", she has said.

The International Federation of Red Cross Societies, who hired the auditing company, has told Folha that further measures "depend on Brazilian judicial institutions".

Among other recommendations in the audit report is "to request the reimbursement of funds to the responsible individuals and to the organizations involved, or the provision of evidence for usage of funds".

Alzira Quirino da Silva, president of Humanus, has said via email that she is unaware of the auditing report and for that reason cannot make a comment.

Choucino could not be contacted by the newspaper.

Translated by CRISTIANE COSTA LIMA

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	Marlene Bergamo-14.jan.2011/Folhapress
	According to the investigation, donations made to flood victims in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro were embezzled