The Trump administration continues to clean up waste, fraud, and abuse within the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), with more organizations and individuals getting debarred for criminal activity.

The latest schemes involve U.S.-funded nonprofits in Pakistan and Mali, both of which were debarred, excluding them from federal contracts, grants and other government business for a set period.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, we are aggressively hunting those who steal from American taxpayers and, as USAID IG investigators continue to do, will travel to the ends of the earth to hold fraudsters accountable,” a senior administration official familiar with the USAID's Office of Inspector General (OIG) told Just the News. The OIG is a statutorily independent law enforcement agency.

"Rife with bribery and kickbacks," OIG says

In Pakistan, a U.K. citizen, Stephen Paul Edmund Sutton, and a Pakistani citizen, Atif Hussain Gillani, were found to have participated in a kickback scheme involving a U.S.-funded power grid project in Pakistan. The fraud resulted in nearly $100,000 taken from the project, with Sutton receiving at least $21,000 in kickbacks, a USAID OIG report found.

Between May and November 2015, Gillani and Sutton created two companies and received purchase orders for forklift and crane services from a USAID awardee, the profits of which they kept for themselves. Gillani arranged for locals to complete the services for substantially less than what was in the purchase orders, while Sutton made sure the invoices were paid.

Fraudsters are also subject to criminal prosecution by the U.S. Department of Justice. Sutton was extradited from the UK on May 19, 2025, and pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit theft concerning a program receiving federal funds, which is a felony. He was sentenced to time served and one day of supervised release and was debarred for three years from participating in government programs.

On September 25, 2025, Gillani pleaded guilty and was also sentenced to time served and debarred for three years.

“The U.S.-funded power grid in Pakistan, rife with bribery and kickbacks uncovered by USAID IG, reflects the fraud, waste, and abuse in overseas spending that the American people will no longer tolerate,” the administration official told Just the News. 

In the Mali case, the OIG found that the Association Subaahi Gumo (ASG), itself part of a USAID-funded conflict prevention program, committed financial misconduct. The organization likely falsified employee contracts, forged employee signatures, and committed payroll fraud, the OIG reported. USAID/Mali terminated the award to ASG and debarred ASG, its general secretary, and its finance and administrative manager for three years.

“Funding NGOs in Mali that used American taxpayer funds for their own enjoyment rather than pay their employees is yet another example of the reckless spending that this administration has ended,” the senior administration official told Just the News.