KUWAIT SEEKING INDEPENDENT AUDITOR FOR CHARITABLE

UNCLAS KUWAIT 004056 SIPDIS SENSITIVE FOR NEA/ARPI E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PTER EFIN PREL PGOV ETTC KU TERROR FINANCE SUBJECT: KUWAIT SEEKING INDEPENDENT AUDITOR FOR CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS REF: A. KUWAIT 3831 ¶B. KUWAIT 3393 (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Protect accordingly. ¶1. (SBU) The Ambassador used a September 12 meeting on other issues (septels) to inform Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Faisal Al-Hajji of the September 20-23 visit of Department of Treasury Director of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Robert Werner. He told the Minister that among the issues of interest to OFAC was oversight of charitable organizations and how they spend collected funds. The Ambassador also advised the Minister of a Central Bank recommendation to hire an auditor for this function (ref A). Al-Hajji reported that the GOK had issued a tender for independent auditors for charities and shared U.S. concerns about the need for effective monitoring of charitable spending. He further assured the Ambassador that the GOK was paying close attention to Kuwaiti charities, and reports of misuse of funds could usually be attributed to improprieties committed by representatives hired by the charities and not the organizations themselves. ¶2. (U) The Ambassador asked the Minister to meet with OFAC Director Werner. The Minister agreed readily. ********************************************* Visit Embassy Kuwait's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website ********************************************* LEBARON