Here is a charitable money moral dilemma!?

I have been approached by a member of a charity who asked my opinion on the following predicament she finds herself in!





The lady in question deals with the accounts for a small charity and there are 3 signatures needed on the current account.





Now, she has been asked by another female member of the charity group if she could deposit a lump sum in the charity account or a deposit account in the charity name for some time until she can get out of the relationship she is presently in.





The lady making the request has said that any interest earned on the deposit (i think it is in the region of 拢8,000) she would donate to the charity but the original deposit would remain the property of the member making the deposit.





I think the reason for the above request being made is that the deposit would be in the charity account name and not in that of the individual!





Sooo what would you do in the circumstances!?|||If she wants to dump money in the charitites bank account that is one thing. But she can't ask for it back because she wanted to hide it that is illegal and unfair to their partner. Whatever the circumstances are they should be honest and not assist in lying (to ex-spouses, courts or anyone else) especially if they are a charity.|||Say that I'm very sorry, but the accounts of the charity cannot, under any circumstances, be used to hold money that does not belong to the charity itself, period. If the lady persists, say "I'm really sorry, I understand you are desperate, but it's inappropriate and unfair to put me in a situation where I would be doing something inappropriate, unethical and, possibly, illegal." And if the woman persists or becomes hostile, the person should go to the president of the board *immediately* and report the behavior.





If the board condones the behavior of this woman, your friend needs to look for another job/another charity to support.|||Since it is a member of the charity asking it may not be a scam but it is still almost undoubtedly illegal. It is called money laundering or hiding assets. The woman in question needs to protect her assets in another way and if they are that substantial she needs a lawyer or an accountant to advise her.|||This is totally unlawful and your friend shouldnt touch it with a bargepole. Presumably the person wanting to deposit the cash is a trustee? If so, this makes it doubly bad as they are legally responsible along with the other trustees for the financial management of the charity. I would report her to the chair and if the chair wont take action, report it to the Charity Commission|||Call the police. This is a version of a well-known scam called the pigeon drop, I think. I bet that the person who is considering this has been asked to pay the depositor some money equal to what is being deposited. Then the depositor will disappear and the poor women will find that the check was fake. Her charity will be out the money she gave to the depositor.|||To be honest with you, I would leave well alone. Sounds complicated, and where signatures are involved with someone else's money it is not worth chancing it.





I'm sure it may be genuine, but only a solicitor would be able to decide that.





Just my opinion, and hope you get a better answer, if not, steer clear and be safe.|||Sounds incredibly dodgy and may possibly consitute a fraud as well as attracting interest from HMRC in terms of tax issues.





A charity account should not be used to store money for individuals, and I would question why this woman is trying to hide any assets she owns.