Hamilton Academical cuts ties with controversial Scotia Aid charity

Scotia Aid were advertised at New Douglas Park

A PREMIERSHIP football club has severed all ties with a controversial charity exposed by The Sunday Post.

African aid organisation Scotia Aid Sierra Leone was a major sponsor of Premiership side Hamilton Academical.

But the link has now been cut after a charity watchdog announced it was probing widespread misconduct at the organisation.

A spokesman for the club said: “We made the decision to cut ties with Scotia Aid due to negative allegations coming to light, and the charity not fulfilling their financial
obligations to us.”

Advertising boards for Scotia Aid at New Douglas Park (Andrew Cawley / DC Thomson)

Last year The Sunday Post revealed widespread concerns about Scotia Aid Sierra Leone.

Our investigation revealed how the Lanarkshire-based charity was making a lot of money through a rates relief deal.

Accounts revealed the organisation had received more than £1million in donations but had only given around a tenth of that to good causes in Sierra Leone.

The charity had claimed it had donated furniture to a Freetown-based orphanage called the Wellington Progressive School.

But a spokesman for the school said it had never heard of the charity.

Scotia Aid also claims to have given Jesus Is The Answer Primary School in Calabatown, Freetown, a £1000 donation to fix a roof in 2012.

But the chairman of the school’s committee, Alie Sesay, revealed he “was not aware of any support from Scotia Aid”.

Last month, Scottish charity regulator OSCR launched an official probe into Scotia Aid Sierra Leone.

The trustees of Scotia Aid were suspended after OSCR unearthed concerns about financial mismanagement.

Scotia Aid's Dan Houston at a Hamilton Accies legends charity football match. — Scotia Aid’s Dan Houston at a Hamilton Accies legends charity football match.

The report by OSCR said it had detected “misconduct” and accounts of the charity were frozen.

Ultimately OSCR can pass on its findings to Police Scotland. This step has not been taken yet.

Last season the name of the charity was plastered on huge boardings on a stand at New Douglas Park in Hamilton, Lanarkshire.

Its logo was also displayed in the background during prime-time TV interviews manager Martin Canning and his players.

At one time the aid organisation had a shirt sponsorship deal with the club.

A spokesman for the club added: “Their brand identity around the stadium and in club literature has been removed from our commercial portfolio.”

No one from Scotia Aid was available for comment.

Donators left in the dark as scores of Scottish charities miss account deadlines

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Hamilton Academical cuts ties with controversial Scotia Aid charity