missing millions - malawi fundraiser

[katty]

more: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,511737,00.html
EXCERPT:

You may recall that Madonna summoned all her celebrity friends, especially the ones involved with Kabbalah like Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher, as well those caught up in their own fringe religions like Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.

The fundraiser had some problems, however. Even though Raising Malawi had been in business for two years, it was still not approved as a sanctioned non profit at the time. Instead, Gucci formed its own Foundation — known as a 501 c3 — to collect the money. They brought UNICEF on board to give the event a feeling of legitimacy. But in the end, the efforts expended were for Raising Malawi, an organization founded by the Kabbalah Center of Los Angeles. Raising Malawi teaches the Kabbalah curriculum, called Spirituality for Kids, to Malawi orphans.

Now, fourteen months after the fundraiser, there’s no accounting for the money that came in. At the time, Gucci claimed that they’d underwritten the entire event, that $3.7 million had been raised and that it had been split between Raising Malawi and UNICEF.

But since then, The Gucci Foundation has still not filed a Form 990 tax statement, and neither has Raising Malawi. Calls to Gucci haven’t provided any information, and calls and emails to Raising Malawi haven’t been returned.

Where the money has gone — and the whole story of Raising Malawi — comes at an inconvenient time for Madonna. She’s currently back in Malawi trying to adopt yet another child, this time a four year girl named Mercy.