British charitable trust that draws on OxyContin maker fortune says it exempted names to protect their reputations
Two charities that received a combined total of more than £1.1m from the British charitable trust run by the Sackler family were kept out of its latest accounts to protect their reputations from “serious prejudice”.
The trust, which draws on the Sackler fortune that came out of the US opioid crisis, gave £3.8m to arts, eduction and science bodies in 2024, according to its latest accounts, filed on New Year’s Eve.
The largest named recipients – each receiving £250,000 – were Veterans Aid, which tackles homelessness in the ex-service community, and the Belvoir Cricket and Countryside Trust, which works to develop an appreciation for the British countryside and promotes a love of sport, especially cricket.
The Sackler Trust is shunned by leading arts bodies and others who have refused donations or stopped accepting them because of the Sackler family’s links to the US opioid crisis and the painkiller OxyContin.
