Suspicions of embezzlement of purchasing procedures, conflicts of interest… About fifteen former employees of the Turkish branch of the NGO point to problematic management methods. An audit report has already sounded the alarm. MDM France denies any drift.
Sitting on the sofa of a comfortable apartment in central Istanbul, Idil takes a deep breath before beginning her story. A former employee of the Turkish branch of the NGO Médecins du Monde (MDM), she took time to digest the few months she spent with this humanitarian organization, committed to helping the 3.7 million Syrian refugees settled in Turkey.
“I witnessed problems in following procedures as soon as I arrived,” she recalls. I tried to report it, but my supervisor was covering up these practices. “ For two hours, the ex-employee, who asks to remain anonymous like all the former employees met as part of this investigation, tells stories of conflicts of interest and favoritism. After four very trying months, she resigned, disgusted by the deleterious atmosphere of the structure. And in October 2020, it launched an alert procedure with MDM France, the parent company.
“I am afraid that it will lead to a huge scandal if MDM does not take any action because many people inside or outside MDM Turkey, especially in the south-east of the country, know about these practices and talk about embezzlement, writes- her in her email addressed to the Paris headquarters. This could go all the way back to the donors. A week later, Idil receives an email from the human resources director of MDM France: “Thank you. We will contact you. Do not hesitate to let us know the names of other people likely to testify. This will be the only response to his message . The Paris HQ, which postponed the processing of the alert to a later audit, never called Idil back.
Like her, seventeen former employees of MDM Turkey (Dünya Doktorlari Dernegi, DDD in Turkish) confided in Le Monde, under the cover of a pseudonym. They have held positions in finance, logistics, human resources or program coordination over different periods. Their testimonies, perfectly convergent, and the documents that they transmitted to Le Monde depict an NGO in freewheeling, prey to serious dysfunctions and possible embezzlement. Four other people declined a request for an interview for fear of reprisals.
“High risk organization”
MDM Turkey develops mobile clinics and mental health projects for refugees and supports local partners in northwestern Syria, where it provides 16,000 medical consultations per month in Idlib and 8,000 in Afrin. These programs are funded by the EU, other branches of MDM and the Swiss and French governments. In 2020, all the projects piloted by MDM Turkey represented a budget of 15 million euros and employed nearly 400 employees.
