The Department of Law and Order is drafting a guideline on soliciting donations and conducting crowdfunding activities. The guideline will be an expansion of the department’s public notification shared in 2022, which states that engaging in such activities without approval could prompt the department to take action. The department says there is a lack of awareness of the consequences of seeking public donations, especially using social media platforms without their approval.
In its public notification shared on July 19, 2022, the department urges the public to refrain from contributing to donation drives unless there is proof of an official approval letter where a dedicated account number is specified.
Based on the application received, the department sets a ceiling of approved funds and closes the account as soon as the amount is reached.
An official from the department shares that this is not only to ensure proper management of funds but to also prevent misuse of collected funds.
“We want to sustain the practice of compassion that is there within the Bhutanese society, the reason being that if people keep on coming on the social media platform asking for money, whether it is genuine or not, it will lead to fatigue that would set in amongst the members of the community. Therefore, in the future, it is likely that some of the people who are genuinely in need of money will not be able to get money,” said Karma Dorji, the chief of the Department of Law and Order.
The guideline, which is under development, is incorporating all types of cases seeking approval for donation drives.
The department shared that discussions are also being held to incorporate views and recommendations from the national referral hospital to further strengthen the draft guideline. To formalise it, the draft is to be submitted to the home affairs minister for approval, which will then be reviewed by the cabinet within this year.
He also added that the department has been able to intervene in cases of people falsifying causes and forging approval letters to take advantage of donors.
There have been cases of even some donations being solicited without the department’s approval on behalf of families struggling due to financial constraints in terms of living expenses, to conduct rituals and during times of medical emergencies.
In such cases, the department conducts investigations to find out if the case or purpose of donations being sought is genuine. The department has resorted to actions such as verbal warnings, making the individuals involved submit written statements, and freezing the amount collected.
However, if the cases prove to be genuine based on evidence from liaison offices, then special considerations are made to bear certain expenses.
The department also shares that the public must understand that considerations will not be made for every case and may even discontinue doing so in the future if people continue to intentionally bypass the approval process.
A friend of a bereaved family who recently experienced the family’s bank account being frozen by the department after public donations were sought without approval shared his opinion on the approval process.
“It is important to have such regulations, if something like this is not there, some people could be dishonest and take advantage of compassionate people. Although in my recent experience, the family only shared their problem in the village group chat people started donating money out of compassion,” said Kencho Tshering, a resident of Thimphu.
The department explains that if the public comes across suspicious donation or crowdfunding activities, they can directly report to the department by visiting the office in person or communicating through contact details that can be found online on their official website or social media.
The Penal Code of Bhutan 2004 criminalises deceptive practices under Section 309. Moreover, the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering of Financing of Terrorism Act of Bhutan 2018 requires individuals and organisations to report suspicious transactions to ensure donations are not misused.
Meanwhile, the department has approved about 22 public donation applications amounting to around 70 million ngultrum from June 2021 to date.
Sonam Dendup & Phub Dorji
Edited by Kipchu
