Amount raised by US-based Pakistani NGOs to help India fight COVID likely to fund terror: Report

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Washington: United States-based Pakistan-linked charity organisations collected funds in name of helping India in the COVID-19 crisis, however, the donated millions of dollars are likely to be used for "fomenting protests and sponsoring outright terror attacks", according to a report.

In an elaborate report, DisInfo Lab uncovered the ‘COVID-19 Scam 2021’, which it says is "one of the worst scams in human history" in terms of the humanitarian cost as millions of dollars were stolen in the name of ‘Helping India Breath’.

As India witnessed a second devastating surge in COVID-19 cases, help came from all around the world. However, some organisations use the crisis to collect funds illegitimately in the name of charity.

The DisInfo Lab exposed several charity organisations, which managed to raise funds by exploiting India’s hard-earned goodwill. These organisations have close ties with radical Islamists and terrorists’ organizations and being run in cahoots with the Pakistan army.

“Funds worth tens of crores donated by well-meaning people world over to help India in crisis - has been stolen. There is no accountability and in the present globalised world, no mechanism to ensure any accountability," said the report.

One such Islamic organisation is the IMANA - Islamic Medical Association of North America.

The IMANA is an Illinois-based medical relief organization that was formally established as Islamic Medical Association (IMA) in 1967, and subsequently renamed IMANA.

According to the Disinfo Lab`s report, IMANA received huge amounts in a short span and frequently revised the target amount as soon as the previous target was met.

According to DisInfo Lab`s calculations based on the funds they collected in the specific time period, there was a time they were receiving donations at a speed of USD 100K per hour. The total amount, as per the calculations, can be anywhere between Rs.30 crore to Rs.158 crore.