9 IIRO offices banned from collecting donations

9 IIRO offices banned from collecting donations
Updated 16 January 2015
Follow

9 IIRO offices banned from collecting donations

9 IIRO offices banned from collecting donations

Government security agencies in Asir have banned nine offices of the International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO) from collecting donations because they had illegally taken cash from the public for social welfare projects.
These offices violated an agreement on the matter signed by the Saudi government and the Muslim World League (MWL), the mother body of the IIRO. The nine IIRO offices, which had been monitored by security agencies, collected the cash donations to finance charity projects, according to a recent report in a local daily. The ninth article of the agreement states that IIRO offices are only allowed to accept non-monetary forms of aid from the public. Sources were quoted as saying that the Asir governorate recently ordered several charities in the region to stop collecting cash from the public. It warned that there would be penalties for those failing to comply.
Earlier this month the Ministry of Interior discovered that an IIRO office had broken the law by collecting cash from the public for orphans, poor families, Syrian refugees and to build mosques inside and outside the Kingdom.
The IIRO operates charity projects and programs to distribute aid to poor Muslim nations across the world. This includes food and various forms of relief during floods and other natural disasters. It was formed in 1978 by the MWL and is based in the Kingdom.
The Islamic Affairs Ministry has also banned all offices and charities at local markets falling under its supervision from collecting donations. Only main offices of the ministry are allowed to do so.
Charities are not allowed to collect donations without permission. Penalties for failure to comply include having their board members removed or fines slapped.
An official at the Ministry of Social Affairs confirmed recently that 20 charities were also closed in the Eastern Province in November for the same violations. Seventy percent of these charities were raising funds through unauthorized outlets, he said.