Former U.S President, Barack Obama, is currently being investigated by the Senate for sending government funds to an organization with close connections to terrorists.
The organization, a non-profit humanitarian agency known as ‘World Vision United States‘, is said to have conducted transactions improperly with the Islamic Relief Agency (ISRA), in 2014.
The transactions were approved by the Obama-led administration.
A report of the investigation findings was recently released by the Senate Finance Committee Chairman, Chuck Grassley (Representing Iowa).
The Senate staff were believed to have commenced the investigation into the relationship between World Vision and ISRA, in February 2019.
The investigation however showed that World Vision was ignorant of the fact that the U.S had sanctioned ISRA since 2004 after channeling about $5 million to Maktab al-Khidamat, the predecessors of the Osama Bid Laden led Al-Qaeda.
The Report pined the agency’s ignorance on a lack of proper vetting practices.
“World Vision works to help people in need across the world, and that work is admirable.
“Though it may not have known that ISRA was on the sanctions list or that it was listed because of its affiliation with terrorism, it should have. Ignorance can’t suffice as an excuse. World Vision’s changes in vetting practices are a good first step, and I look forward to its continued progress,” Grassley said in a statement.
In July 2018, a National Review article by Sam Westrop, the director of the Middle East Forum’s Islamist Watch, provoked the senate’s investigation.
MEF had detailed findings that the Obama administration had approved a “$200,000 grant of taxpayer money to ISRA.”
Westrop stated that even when government officials knew ISRA was a designated terror organization, they still sanctioned the release of about $115,000 of the grant.
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The Senate report pointed out that World Vision, on January 21, 2014, filed a grant application to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to execute its Blue Nile Recovery Program.
World Vision were awarded a USAID grant of $723,405 for the program aimed at providing food security, sanitation equipment, and health services to areas in the Blue Nile region, of Sudan, hit by conflict.
World Vision were believed to have immediately stopped all payments to ISRA after its legal department was notified of the organization’s potential status as a sanctioned entity in September 2014.
“The investigation did not find any evidence that World Vision intentionally sought to circumvent U.S. sanctions by partnering with ISRA,” the report said
“We also found no evidence that World Vision knew that ISRA was a sanctioned entity prior to receiving notice from Treasury.
“However, based on the evidence presented, we conclude that World Vision had access to the appropriate public information and should have known how, but failed to, properly vet ISRA as a sub-grantee, resulting in the transfer of U.S. taxpayer dollars to an organization with an extensive history of supporting terrorist organization [sic] and terrorists, including Osama Bin Laden,” the report adds.
The report calls out World Vision for attempting to transfer blame.
“World Vision has a duty to ensure that funds acquired from the U.S. government or donated by Americans do not end up supporting terrorist activity.
“Particularly concerning to this Committee is World Vision’s attempt to shift the blame to the federal government for their own inability to properly vet a subcontractor.
“A more robust and fundamentally sound system of screening and vetting is needed to restore the public’s trust that contributions made to World Vision are not funding illicit organizations,” the report stated.