On Wednesday night, The Daily Mail published an article claiming £1.7million raised by charity for his Didier Drogba Foundation In Africa which was founded in 2007 never got to Africa. In their article, they claim less than 1% of the monies raised has gone to good causes. Last night, they also handed over a 'a dossier of evidence' to the Charity Commission who have since kicked-off an investigation into the matter.
Princess Beatrice, David Beckham, Bono, Frank Lampard and his wife Christine Bleakley, Pepsi, Nike, Samsung, Pele, John Terry, Roger Federer and Donna Air - the girlfriend of the Duchess of Cambridge’s brother James, have been known to make contributions towards the cause. Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is also known to have made a ‘large personal donation’. They also accused him of spending more on the parties than the cause. Read excerpts from that article below:
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 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.
And while the charity claims all of this sponsorship money has been used for charitable activities, it has not gone through the UK arm and none of these activities have ever been open to scrutiny by the UK Charity Commission.
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| His former Chelsea teammates were in attendance in 2012 |
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| British Girl Group 'The Saturdays' performed at his 2010 |
They also suggest that he may not have paid UK income tax on these sponsorship payments, made over six years. The UN who also praised Drogba for his kind works and made him an ambassador in 2007 have revealed their embarrassment at the allegations and vowed to investigate it as well. The Mail paid a visit to the hospital sit this month and their findings reveal that it is yet to be furnished almost a year after it was announced it would be up and running; thier website states between June-July 2015.
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| The ‘hospital’ in Abidjan was not open and had no equipment inside when visited by the Mail this month. Above, the unfurnished and unopened hospital |
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Their allegations their allegations reveal how the charity allegedly...
- 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.
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| Estelle performed in his fund raiser in 2012 |
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| Princess Beatrice has a chat with John Terry during one of the gala nights |
Drogba meanwhile has fired back with a strongly worded statement. In his letter, he said legal letters and 67 pages of document sent to Daily Mail had been ignored, thus, his decision to tow this road.
He claims their comments are 'factually incorrect and libelous'. He added that the paper's decision to contact his friends, colleagues and sponsors has put doubt in their minds as to whether to continue to support his foundation. Read more below...
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