Money for a point: they want to ban collecting donations on personal cards
Deputies propose to introduce special charity accounts for collecting donations by individuals. This will make it possible to prohibit the use of personal cards for these purposes, Olga Zanko, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee for the Development of Civil Society, said at the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum (SPIEF). The implementation of the initiative will ensure the transparency of fees and will make it possible to control the targeted use of funds, and now fraudsters often act under the guise of charity, experts say. How the mechanism will work is described in the Izvestia article.
How will the collection of donations be limited
The deputies proposed to ban charity fees for personal cards. Olga Zanko, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on the Development of Civil Society, Issues of Public and Religious Associations, announced this solution to the problem of non-transparency of donations in the framework of the SPIEF. And it is proposed to create special charity accounts for private fees.
— It is difficult to understand whether the funds were actually spent on assistance or whether someone embezzled them, - Olga Zanko told Izvestia. — Today, the forum discussed precedents when private individuals raised funds for the treatment of a child, and the Circle of Goodness foundation helped him.
According to the MP, all donations are now regulated by the Civil Code and the Law on charitable activities, which authorizes their collection.
"But we don't have any mandatory reporting," she stressed. — We do not understand whether these funds were actually used to help people or into the pockets of scammers. And which part went for their own personal goals? This is a huge question. We are currently discussing these topics within our working group.
Individuals often collect charitable donations on personal cards, and these are always high-risk transactions, since personal income tax charges, alimony, and loans can be deducted from such cards. Therefore, the introduction of a three—stage transparency system is being discussed: mandatory collection to individual charitable accounts instead of personal cards, the creation of an open register of individuals who organize fees with simplified registration through Gosuslugi, and the introduction of convenient and simple digital reporting.
— Therefore, there is a proposal to ban the collection of charitable donations by individuals on personal cards, and to create a separate charitable account, — said Olga Zanko. — Another suggestion is to introduce criteria when it is impossible for individuals to continue collecting charitable donations.
For example, if fees are carried out constantly or exceed a certain amount, then you either need to register an NGO or do it through existing funds. However, exceptions may remain for personal fees, emergency assistance, and support for participants in a special military operation.
— The proposed measures relate to public collections of donations, which are addressed to an unlimited number of people, — said the deputy. — This does not include, for example, fees paid by parents for a gift to a teacher. However, exceptions may remain for personal fees, emergency assistance, and support for participants in a special military operation.
The urgency of the problem of protecting funds during public fundraising is obvious, said Yana Lantratova, head of the Committee for the Development of Civil Society.
— Many people are ready to help, but they are afraid of fraud. They doubt that the money will reach the recipient," she told Izvestia. — In addition to the misuse of funds, there are a number of other risks: these are taxation issues and the blocking of bank cards due to large cash flows. We are looking for a solution to the problem.
According to the MP, it is necessary to think about creating a state platform for fundraising for charity.
— It is important that there are reports, receipts, and documents confirming that the money was used for its intended purpose. And since everyone understands that you can draw anything using Photoshop, it's important that it's an official structure," she said.
What are the risks of banning transfers?
The introduction of special charity accounts is aimed at solving the urgent problem of opaque collection of donations to personal bank cards, says Ilya Frenchov, a lawyer in the field of civil rights protection.
In recent years, private charity has been actively developing, said Elena Topoleva-Soldunova, Chairman of the Commission of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation for the development of the non-profit sector, CEO of the Dobrota Severa Foundation.
"People donate funds not only to charities and other NGOs, but also collect them themselves, on their personal cards or the cards of friends and relatives for the purpose of helping those in need, for the needs of their families," she said. — Unfortunately, fraudsters take advantage of this growing rush of people to charity and sometimes organize fake fees.
For example, in the Trans-Baikal Territory in 2024, a local resident was convicted for collecting money in the form of donations for participants in a special military operation, but appropriated the money for himself. He was found guilty of fraud.
The court found that in October 2022, the young man created a group on a social network where he posted an ad about raising money in support of military personnel stationed in his area. Over the course of two months, users transferred various amounts to his bank account, which he disposed of at his own discretion, the prosecutor's office said.
— The new mechanism will increase the trust of donors, simplify the verification of the legality of collection and minimize abuse. In addition, special accounts will help protect the organizers from tax and legal risks," Ilya Frenchov said.
The State Duma Committee proposed to respond to emerging problems and try to regulate and control such fees, Elena Topoleva-Soldunova added.
— The intention is understandable and understandable, but it will not be very easy to implement it, — said the expert. — In particular, it is proposed to create a registry or a special platform, but this implies a lot of work by some department to manage and control the use of the collected funds, because there are many such donations.
The legislative consolidation of such a collection model is consistent with international practice and is long overdue in the context of the growth of private charity, experts noted.
Separately, during the session, the experts discussed the possibilities of ensuring transparency in the activities of NGOs. In particular, they discussed the protection of the names of non-profit organizations, unjustified collection of donations and fund reporting.
Currently, according to Svetlana Kuznetsova, director of the Department of Legislation and Law Enforcement in the field of non-profit organizations of the Ministry of Justice, more than 226 thousand are registered in Russia. NGOs, of which 11.6 thousand are charitable foundations.
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