In the middle of many accusations of financial misconduct, The Shane Warne Foundation (TSWF) has ceased operations. This Australian foundation was responsible for hosting many charity poker tournaments.
The accusations claimed that the foundation had misrepresented or deliberately hidden the distribution of its funds. Even though Shane Warne insisted there were no financial misconduct, he decided to close down the charity.
Last Friday, the former cricketer, Mr. Warne, made a post on Facebook where he stated his dissatisfaction with the media for the “unwarranted speculation”. In the same post he also stated that the Big Four auditor KPMG had reviewed all of the foundation’s accounts. He wrote:
“In response to recent, unwarranted speculation about The Shane Warne Foundation and its distribution of funds, we confirm we have distributed $3.67M to date with an additional and final substantial cheque to be distributed on March 18, 2016,”
Although, Warne stated there was “nothing to hide” and that the organization’s accounts were in order, a month after Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) demanded an independent audit he decided to cease operations of his charity.
On Friday, CAV said that the audit will not stop and will be done on February 29th. CAV have requested the TSWF accounts of the last three and a half years.
According to Fairfax Media Between 2011 and 1013 TSWF raised $1.8 million, however only $0.16 on a dollar was donated to organizations for underprivileged children. This rapport was released after Fairfax Media received the financial records for TSWF.
In 2014, according to a spokesperson for TSWF they donated $0.30 on the dollar to organizations in need.
Poker Charity
The annual Joe Hachem and Shane Warne Charity Tournament was cancelled, as a result of those accusations and the closure of TSWF.
The charity tournament was launched in 2008 and was held every year at the Crown Casino in Melbourne, during the Aussie Millions. The event featured many professional poker players and Australian celebrities such as AFL footballers Steven Baker and Brendan Goddard and former cricketer Merv Hughes.
With all the issues Warne is facing regarding the organization’s finance, it seems the charity events will be shelved, for now at least.
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