Canada Revenue revokes charity status of Tamil Aid Society

Ottawa - Effective today the charity status of Tamil (Sri Lanka) Refugee-Aid Society of Ottawa (the Society), an Ottawa-area charity has been revoked by the Canada Revenue Agency.

The announcement comes just days after the CRA issued a notice of intention to the Society for failing to maintain adequate control and direction over the use of its funds; improperly issued tax receipts on behalf of third parties; and provided funding to non-qualified donees outside Canada. This funding includes $713,000 that was provided to support the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (the LTTE), a listed entity under the United Nations Suppression of Terrorism Regulations and the Criminal Code of Canada alleges the CRA. It was also found that fundraising was conducted under the Society's auspices involved a person convicted in the United States for conspiring to provide material support to the LTTE. The Society's liaison officer for Sri Lanka was named in documents that are filed with the Federal Court of Canada as a contact for area sales coordinators with the World Tamil Movement, also a listed entity under the Criminal Code of Canada because of its ties to the LTTE. The notice of intention to revoke and other letters relating to the grounds for revocation are available to the public on request by calling 1-800-267-2384.