If you got into bed with the Clinton Foundation there is good news and bad news for you, Wall Street analyst Charles Ortel, who has been investigating the charity's alleged fraud for the last few years, says.
In his previous interviews with Sputnik, Ortel explained that judging from documents released in the public domain, the Clinton Foundation and its numerous entities neither were properly organized nor operated lawfully over the past two decades. He also shed light on the Clinton's "pay-to-play" scheme and revealed how the charity cashed in on HIV/AIDS sufferers.
For her part, Dr. Dady Chery, a Haitian-born journalist and News Junkie Post Co-Editor in Chief, unveiled the details of the Clinton Foundation earthquake recovery effort in Haiti back in 2010.
Speaking to Sputnik, the journalist, who authored "We Have Dared to Be Free: Haiti's Struggle Against Occupation," underscored that it still remains shrouded in secrecy how exactly the Clintons spent the funds collected for Haiti's reconstruction.
The crux of the matter is that the US laws related to charitable nonprofits which enjoy tax-exempt status are incredibly strict, especially when it comes to "private benefits."
Alas, the aforementioned cases and numerous discrepancies in the Clinton Foundation's financial statements prompt suspicions of apparent corruption and immense private gains.
But that's half the story, the Wall Street analyst noted.
"It is not simply Hillary Clinton who deserves to be fully investigated and then, in my opinion, prosecuted: all trustees, many executives, and numerous donors deserve attention from the IRS, from state tax agencies, and from the Attorney General," he said.
Incredible as it may seem, the Clinton Foundations' trustees and donors appeared to not bother at all about the charity's fund management over all these years: they have obviously failed to raise the alarm over the suspicious financial records of the organization.
Meanwhile, "numerous 'private foundations' seem to have potentially made illegal 'taxable expenditures' when they donated to the Clinton Foundation and its various affiliates, as these were neither lawfully organized nor lawfully operated," the Wall Street analyst underscored, stressing that this apparent negligence entails legal responsibilities.
"Under our system, private citizens have a right (some might even argue a duty) to argue that government authorities discharge their proper roles and go after these private foundations to recoup the taxable expenditures. One of the entities that seem to have an indefensible record is the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, but there are many other large private foundations that seem to me to have substantial exposure," he pointed out.
Furthermore, Ortel drew attention to the fact that "several foreign governments have sent massive sums to the Clinton Foundation that seem to have been diverted from validly authorized tax-exempt purposes."
If the fraud is proven, all of the Clinton Foundation's private and government donors — as well as trustees and operatives — will find themselves in a whole heap of trouble because they will face major penalties for having given money to the charity that wasn't properly organized and operated.
However, there is also good news, Ortel says.
"Under US laws, the Clinton Foundation is required to make specific disclosures concerning any grants it received from governments, especially including foreign governments," Ortel told Sputnik, "Even now, after so much adverse publicity, and following multiple flawed restatements of public filings with the IRS and with states, Clinton charities still have not made required disclosures particularly concerning grants received from foreign governments."
"Why are these governments content with Clinton public filings that still do not credit foreign donors, in required specific terms, for their generosity? If foreign governments are content with these flawed Clinton Foundation disclosures, why are their citizens?" the Wall Street analyst asks.
In all this, there is good news for foreign governments that may wish to recover grants made to Clinton charities, the analyst told Sputnik.
"It seems possible that certain foreign governments may be able to recover funds by suing private foundations that should have been able to see apparent frauds at charities operated by the Clinton family and their associates, yet nevertheless supported these fraudulent activities, in some cases, for years and in substantial amounts," Ortel said.
"US laws require private foundations, many of which still have substantial liquidity, to donate sums only to validly organized and operated charities, and only for specifically authorized purposes," he added.
Why can't foreign governments sue the Clinton's entities directly?
"In brief, foreign governments can (and should) sue Clinton charities and their trustees, but these entities ultimately will have little money left once US Federal and state governments turn and do their jobs," Ortel responded.
"On the other hand, large donors like the Gates Foundation (there are many others) have massive sums and would likely, after resisting at first, would be moved to cooperate and to settle, especially those that operate abroad and are, in theory, pinnacles of virtue," he stressed.
"Truly deplorable what the Clintons have done, with aid of so many who sought to milk an HRC [Hillary Rodham Clinton] reign," Ortel concluded.
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Sputnik.
