Charity denies financial irregularities

Pavarotti has raised at least $10 million for child victims of Balkan wars

By Avril Stephens, CNN.com Europe writer

LONDON, England (CNN) -- The charity War Child, which has boasted among its supporters singers Paul McCartney and Luciano Pavarotti, has denied accusations of financial irregularities.

The UK arm of the charity, which has sister offices in the Netherlands, France, Canada and Australia, has been accused of administration overspending and not sending monies to specific targets.

It has lost the support of famous music personalities as a result, most notably David Bowie, and the opera singer Pavarotti who had persuaded names such as Elton John, Bono, Eric Clapton and the Spice Girls to perform in concerts and donate royalties for the charity.

War Child, which runs projects in the Balkans, Africa and South America, denies the allegations.

The charity was set up in the mid-1990s with the objective of helping children and their families in war and conflict zones by providing emergency aid as well as helping to heal the psychological damage caused by war among youngsters.

It had been involved in the Pavarotti Music Center in Mostar, Bosnia, named after the world famous tenor after he helped raise more than $10 million for War Child.

The centre, which encourages children to take up the arts, is still supported by Pavarotti after it came under a different charity's support.

But concern about the War Child, UK, finances led to Pavarotti and other patrons to withdraw their support in mid-1999.

A statement from Pavarotti last week said: "Patrons decided to leave War Child UK primarily because they felt the charity had grown away from the original intentions of the founders.

"There were also allegations of corruption at War Child UK. This did not concern money that Pavarotti had donated.

"However, there was concern -- both by the patrons and War Child's own Trustees and lawyers -- about the way the funds raised by Pavarotti events were being managed by the management committee at War Child UK."

The news has only emerged after the British newspaper The Guardian and television station Channel 4 revealed the story last week.

The Guardian accused the charity of accepting bribes, not directing money to specific targets, excessive airfares and high administrative expenses.

But the charity said in a statement: "The Guardian has alleged that there were breaches in basic standards of probity.

"However, if true, they occurred years ago and the responsibility to correct these breaches rested with the trustees at that time.

"None of these trustees remain on the board of War Child. The new board of trustees, staff and patrons are dealing properly with these historical charges."

It added all monies received by War Child for the Pavarotti Music Center project, including the Miss Sarajevo money, were spent on that scheme "as our accounts clearly state."

The charity said accusations of excessive airfares were "easy to make but constitute a miniscule part of the activities of the charity."

"The charge of high administrative expenses, poor accounting and inadequate management structures are inaccurate."

It enlisted the help of the Charity Commission in 1998 to tackle its problems -- help that is still going on.

A spokeswoman for the commission told CNN.com Europe: "We have been intensively involved with the trustees about a number of financial and administrative matters since they approached us in 1998 and they have acted appropriately and responsibly in bringing their problems to our attention.

"We are receiving their co-operation as we provide advice and support through this difficult period in the interests of those people, particularly children, who are suffering as a result of war."

Pavarotti pulls out of War Child project
January 13, 2001

War Child

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