Angelina Jolie exposes charity’s unethical practices

Angelina Jolie left the Princess Diana-linked charity The HALO Trust after it was found that trustees were given large, questionable payouts.

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Jolie was said to be extremely uncomfortable with the fact that trustees from the mine-clearance charity were paying themselves up to £500, according to The Times UK. The outlet also reports that two of the trustees, Amanda Pullinger and Simon Conway, received more than £120,000 for the previous financial year.

According to NBC, the HALO Trust receives funds from multiple national governments including the UK, Germany and Ireland with the mission to clear landmines from war zones around the world.

The charity has also spoken publicly about the reports of trustee payment, saying what they did was completely legal and justified.

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“Both Amanda and Simon received payment for this work, which was entirely appropriate, and ensured that the trust continued to operate effectively,” trust CEO James Cowan explained in a statement released on Wednesday. “We could have turned to an external team to conduct the reviews, but, for the sake of speed and to keep the cost down, we looked to our trustees, who know the organization inside out, to get on and make the necessary changes.”

Jolie has yet to comment on the reports, but Cowan did add that she “remains a supporter of the HALO Trust and our mission to rid the world of landmines.”

Rumors of misconduct were also further fueled by the fact that the trust’s longtime CEO, Guy Willoughby, was recently suspended over governance issues, though specifics about his practices weren’t available.

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The HALO Trust first came to prominence when Princess Diana visited the minefields cleared by the trust in Angola in 1997, shortly before her death.

The current US branch is headed by Cindy McCain, Sen. John McCain’s wife.

Do you think the charity’s practice of paying trustees is questionable?