Stars, royals and businessmen have donated more than £1.7 million to a foundation set up by former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba as supporters, including Bono, Frank Lampard and Christine Bleakley, were told the cash would build a hospital and help educate impoverished children in his West African homeland of Ivory Coast.
But, disturbingly, accounts show that just £14,115 went to good causes. More than 30 times that amount — £439,321 — was spent putting on lavish fundraising parties, where the Princess and other famous guests enjoyed champagne and were entertained by leading pop stars — while the rest was left languishing in accounts.
The shocking evidence will horrify the charity’s backers — including Pele, John Terry, Roger Federer and Donna Air, the girlfriend of the Duchess of Cambridge’s brother James.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is also known to have made a ‘large personal donation’.
There were also questions last night about millions of pounds in sponsorship earnings from Pepsi, Nike and Samsung, which Drogba claims have gone to the charity.
The money — none of which appears in the charity’s UK accounts — is understood to have been paid into an account in the charity’s name in Ivory Coast.
In a series of revelations starting today, the Daily Mail reveals how the charity:
- Raised more than £1.7 million in the UK over five years, but spent just 0.8 per cent of this on good causes.
- Claimed to be funding the construction of a hospital and up to five other clinics — but has built only one clinic, which has no staff or medical equipment.
- Told supporters one fundraising ball in London had raised £300,000 — even though it was so expensive to put on that it lost £71,000.
- Until last year, it had an Ivorian FIFA executive, who was later questioned by police on allegations of bribery, as one of its three trustees.
Drogba, 38, who played more than 100 times for his country and captained them at two World Cups, is the most successful African star ever to play in the UK. He has won numerous awards and reportedly earned more than £200,000 per week at the peak of his career.
After questions from the Mail, the Didier Drogba Foundation revealed that it has a separate organisation set up in the Ivory Coast — with the same name — which has been used to fund a number of charitable projects in Africa since 2007.
This included paying for medical treatment in Switzerland for an Ivorian child with leukaemia, building the ‘clinic’ in the Ivory Coast, although this is yet to open, and funding a mobile health screening truck.
Other charities that work abroad have similar arrangements. But the UK Charity Commission was surprised it had never been told about this separate institution and details of how its money is spent in the Ivory Coast are not open to public scrutiny.
When asked to provide details of the accounts, the Foundation declined.
www.dailymail.co.uk
COMMENTS