Newspapers have reported on people unaffected by the earthquakes posing as victims in order to claim assistance meant for those who lost their homes. In Oaxaca a man claiming to be a government official demanded advance payment for fuel for an aid delivery. He vanished, and the aid never arrived. Residents of Morelos have accused the state governor of trying to confiscate private donations, either to hoard them or relabel them as aid from a state agency.

A report in 2010 for the UN Security Council estimated that approaching half of food aid to Somalia ended up in the hands of corrupt contractors, armed groups, and even some local UN staff.

Disasters are often followed by a wave of opportunistic crimes. The rush to help people rebuild offers fraudsters opportunities all along the line from donor to recipient. But those involved in gathering and distributing aid often look the other way. Charities do not want to deter donors, whether governments or individuals. Aid workers on short-term contracts who witness fraud or theft fear that if they report it they may be sacked and perhaps blacklisted. And no politician wants to admit to taxpayers that their money has gone astray.

The conspiracy of silence means the scale of the problem is hard to gauge. But judging by the occasional audit of overseas aid, it is considerable.

Read the full article on corruption in philanthropy at The Economist