This is the story of how aid funds believed to total several million dollars were diverted from displaced people and vulnerable communities in a scam that shocked senior humanitarian officials and exposed deep-rooted problems with the way aid organisations fight corruption in Congo and beyond. In an investigation that spanned more than nine months, TNH traced the anatomy of the scam using leaked documents and interviews with fraud ringleaders, aid workers, IDPs, and anti-corruption specialists. Our reporting explores the impact such scams may have on the future of communities and aid organisations working in one of the world’s longest-running humanitarian crises.
