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Amnesty International on Thursday suspended its local office in Zimbabwe after discovering evidence of fraud, the first of its kind on the part of the human rights group.
Amnesty issued a statement that "a thorough forensic audit was conducted in late 2018, which revealed evidence of fraud and financial mismanagement".
The Zimbabwean branch was reportedly suspended from the global organization and placed under administration. The Zimbabwean police were informed of the results of the audit.
"The decision was taken to take extraordinary measures (…) to protect the reputation, integrity and functioning of the movement," he added.
The London-based group has not given more details, but said it would try to recover the funds lost and that urgent measures had been introduced to ensure the safety of donor funds.
In Zimbabwe, Amnesty has focused its recent work on the fight against the arrest of human rights defenders, the promotion of freedom of the media and the call for accountability of security forces after the accusations of abuse.
Last year, the United States reduced the funds allocated to three Zimbabwean civil action groups, citing a "possible diversion" of money.
International media have often accused international rights groups in Zimbabwe of working on behalf of foreign countries to help the main opposition party, the MDC, overthrow the government.
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