Natural Disaster: Charity, Charlatans and Corruption

It has been heart warming to see the outpouring of sentiment and support for Haiti in the last few weeks. In response to the devastating earthquake millions of dollars of aid have been pledged around the world. However as soon as there is the scent of money scammers, fraudsters and corrupt minds soon follow.

The FBI and other agencies have already issued stark warnings to be on the alert for scammers. Tragedies seem to bring out the best and the worst in people; Hurricane Katrina, 9/11 and the Tsunami bought out opportunist cons who set up fake charities and websites, and sent unsolicited emails for ‘charitable funds’. 

Corruption is another serious issue that may hamper the relief effort. Transparency International rated Haiti as the tenth most corrupt country in the world in the 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index; it ranked 176th out of 180 countries. Corruption is endemic. Despite President Rene Preval's promise in 2006 to stabilise the country, corruption remains rampant. Millions of dollars have been given to Haiti in the past with very little to show for it; the absence of mechanisms within the country to ensure transparency have led to a culture of opacity and greed in a crumbling infrastructure. 

Sadly corruption in Haiti most probably contributed to the death toll. Poor construction, infrastructure, and lack of development all contributed in some way to the tragedy. 

With the massive influx of aid in the wake of the disaster many in the international community are calling for a monitoring committee to ensure that the aid reaches those worst affected and isn't frittered away on endless kick backs. The international community now has an opportunity to help Haiti put structures in place to help prevent the loss of aid so that it benefits those who need it most helping to move the country towards a more transparent and democratic future.

The FBI offers the following advice for those considering making donations, financial institutions should be on the look out for suspicious transactions:

• Don't reply to unsolicited emails or click on any links in them
• Be wary of people claiming to be an official or a victim asking for a donation
• Rather than follow a link intended to show you a claim is legitimate -- it's easy to spoof a real site -- go to the known site of the charity without following the links, such as the American Red Cross' RedCross.org.
• Don't open email attachments, such as those claiming to show pictures from the disaster, unless it comes from a known sender
• Make your contributions directly to a charity rather than going through someone else
• Don't release your personal information to someone soliciting money

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