Charities have become money laundering victims. So far, well over 80 state and federal legislators who received funds from the indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff have immediately sent the funds back to the charities. Some of these same funds went to Native American organizations, since official of a tribe are considered corrupt, but then the American Heart Association, the Boy Scouts of America, the Salvation Army, the Pentagon Memorial Fund, the Veterans organizations, Christian missions, hurricane relief agencies, social service groups, animal shelters and more have greatly benefited from the fervently unloading of campaign contributions and other compromising largess of lobbyist.
Would dedicating the ill-gotten gains of crime to a charitable purpose make the money become taint free? Would it release those who profited from the original crime or even have been complicit? Would it conveniently absolve the matter in the public mind? Would it speed the obligation to make whole the victims of crime, no matter the needs or ignorant they might be? It seems so. Some will argue that there is little ‘clean money’, and it’s hard to believe that so many non-profits have never drawn the line when it comes to receipt of laundered money. They is a lack of inquiry into just how Abramoff was able to go unhindered and unchecked with his use of non-profits and foundations as being the active components in his corruption schemes.
Charities are supposedly grounded with integrity and values. Their services shouldn’t go beyond moral leadership of their philanthropic nature, particularly in times when the private and public institutions are failing us at every turn . Charities need to implement and practice due diligence and also become accountable with transparencies just like all the other multi-international organizations. They need to have, which is a shame, enhanced regulations that will stop money-laundering schemes to take advantage of the needs of these charities to produce results.