In a shocking allegation, a U.S. Congressman has accused the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) of inadvertently funding terrorist organizations, including Boko Haram, amid concerns over corruption and the misuse of taxpayer funds. These claims raise serious questions about the accountability and effectiveness of U.S. foreign aid programs, and if proven true, they could lead to significant political and diplomatic ramifications. The accusations suggest that vital resources intended for humanitarian efforts may have been diverted, contributing to the very instability the aid was meant to alleviate.

U.S. Congressman Scott Perry has alleged that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded terrorist organizations, including Boko Haram.

Perry, a Republican from Pennsylvania, made these claims during the inaugural hearing of the Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency on Thursday.

The session, called “The War on Waste: Stamping Out the Scourge of Improper Payments and Fraud,” focused on alleged misappropriations of taxpayer funds.

“Who gets some of that money? Does that name ring a bell to anybody in the room? Because your money, your money, $697 million annually, plus the shipments of cash funds in Madrasas, ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, ISIS Khorasan, terrorist training camps. That’s what it’s funding,” Perry stated

According to the subcommittee’s website, it will “actively work with President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency to root out waste, shore up vulnerable payment systems, and fully investigate schemes to defraud taxpayers.”

Perry further pointed to USAID’s reported allocation of $136 million for constructing 120 schools in Pakistan, claiming there was “zero evidence” that any of the schools had been built.

He continued, “If you believe that programmes like Operation Enduring Sentinel’s Women’s Scholarship Endowment, which receives $60 million annually, or Young Women Lead, which gets about $5 million a year, are benefiting women—especially when the Inspector General’s report tells us that the Taliban does not allow women to speak in public—then you must consider that this money is not actually going towards improving the lives of Afghan women. Instead, you are funding terrorism through USAID. And it isn’t just Afghanistan; Pakistan is right next door.

“USAID spent $840 million over the past 20 years on Pakistan’s education-related programmes. This includes $136 million for building 120 schools, yet there is no evidence that any of these schools were ever constructed. Why is that? The Inspector General can’t even get access to verify their existence.”