Written by Paul D. Thacker via The DisInformation Chronicle,
A recent report by a British newspaper revealed that the Trump administration is planning to deport British political operative Imran Ahmed, who leads the Center for Countering Digital Hate, a pro-censorship organization founded by Ahmed in London a few years ago along with Morgan McSweeney, the chief of staff to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. However, prior to his deportation, the Department of Justice should consider indicting Imran Ahmed for violations of American laws, including providing false information to Congress and the IRS.
Let’s take a closer look at Imran Ahmed and the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH).
Based on documents provided by a whistleblower, I collaborated with Matt Taibbi to uncover that CCDH was planning to “Take Down Musk’s Twitter” and interfere in the 2024 presidential elections by aligning with Democrats. Our investigation in October 2024 went viral—my first post on the subject garnered over 40 million views, with BBC Today covering the story the next day.
A Trump campaign official promised to thoroughly investigate CCDH from all angles. However, since the election, there has been no action taken by the Trump administration.
According to information from a CCDH whistleblower, Ahmed currently resides in Northeast Washington, D.C. with his American wife. While The Telegraph mentioned that the White House intends to revoke Ahmed’s visa, there are speculations that Ahmed might possess an American passport.
Instead of focusing on his deportation, the Department of Justice should prioritize indicting Ahmed for deceiving Congress in an August 2023 correspondence about his funding sources and for providing false information to the IRS when applying for tax-exempt status for CCDH in 2021. Furthermore, a CCDH whistleblower informed me that Ahmed expressed concerns about going to jail during staff meetings, hinting at potential issues related to his questionable funding.
I uncovered an American company incorporated by Ahmed in Delaware, which may be linked to his financial dealings.
Deception and Misrepresentation in Congress
During inquiries into CCDH’s funding sources, Congressman Jim Jordan asked Ahmed to clarify if the organization received government funding. In response, Ahmed sent a letter in August 2023 claiming that “CCDH is solely funded by private donors.”
This claim is false, and providing inaccurate information to Congress constitutes a criminal offense. The British Telegraph highlighted last January that Members of Parliament were displeased due to government funding of CCDH.
Here is an excerpt from The Telegraph’s report:
Ben Obese-Jecty, the Conservative MP for Huntingdon, said: “It’s disgraceful that taxpayers’ hard-earned money is being wasted on Left-wing campaign groups, one set up by the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff, who are waging war on our free media and trying to shut down X.
Despite misleading Congressman Jordan in his letter denying government funding, the Department of Justice has yet to launch an investigation into this deceptive claim.
False Claims to the IRS
“A determination of a materially incorrect statement on an application for tax-exempt status should prompt the IRS to conduct a thorough review,” stated Dean Zerbe, regarding CCDH’s IRS application for tax-exempt status. Zerbe, a tax attorney at Alliant consulting firm and a former Senate staffer who investigated nonprofit industry corruption.
What falsehoods exist in CCDH’s submission to the IRS?
CCDH falsely asserted in their 2021 filing to the IRS that CCDH was already functioning as a registered charity in the U.K. However, investigative journalist from London Paul Holden discovered that CCDH had not registered as a British nonprofit. It is likely that CCDH made this false claim to expedite the IRS process for tax-exempt status in order to commence fundraising in the United States.
However, neither the IRS nor the Department of Justice has initiated an investigation into CCDH’s materially false assertion.
CCDH’s Hidden Finances
In 2021, Imran Ahmed launched U.S. branches of the Center for Countering Digital Hate. Financial reports of the nonprofit, known as 990s, can be accessed on ProPublica’s website.
In 2021, CCDH reported receiving donations totaling $1,471,247. While nonprofits are not mandated to disclose their donors, I discovered that an individual donated $1.1 million to CCDH in 2021. However, the donor’s identity was concealed by channeling the funds through a private Schwab Charitable Fund, indicating that someone secretly contributed almost 75% of the donations received by Ahmed’s group in its inaugural year.
Secrecy surrounding finances has always been crucial to Ahmed, and a CCDH whistleblower pointed me towards another financial stream: a private company in Delaware owned by Ahmed. Matching the name of the nonprofit, Ahmed’s private company is named “Center for Countering Digital Hate Inc.”
Unlike the nonprofit CCDH, CCDH Inc. (the private company) is not obligated to disclose its financial details. However, it was revealed that the CCDH nonprofit uses CCDH Inc. to settle the nonprofit’s expenses. For instance, when the nonprofit pays its legal fees, the invoice is cleared by the company, Center for Countering Digital Hate Inc.
You can view the invoice here paid by CCDH to the law firm Faegre Drinker for assistance with renting a WeWork space and handling immigration matters. According to records from Delaware state, the CCDH company was established in 2020, and the address on the invoice is 639 Morton Place NE, which is a residential property in DC, featuring 2 bedrooms.
It’s worth noting that the CCDH company has a different address from the CCDH nonprofit, which states in its 990s that it operates from an office building at 1250 Connecticut Avenue in Northwest DC.
Since the inception of CCDH by Morgan McSweeney and Imran Ahmed, they have not only obscured the organization’s financials but also its employment details. The current CCDH website lists only 6 employees. However, my whistleblower at CCDH provided me with an organizational chart indicating that CCDH had 28 employees in the summer of 2024.
Imran Ahmed claims to keep the names of CCDH employees confidential to protect them from retaliation, but this reasoning seems dubious. A more plausible explanation could be financial motives. CCDH’s IRS filings for nonprofits report an annual donation intake of around $2 million. Ahmed receives a salary of approximately $250,000, the only salary disclosed to the IRS. None of the other staff salaries are reported, as required.
Instead, CCDH reports to the IRS that a few hundred thousand dollars cover all employee salaries.
Several members of CCDH’s leadership team also receive six-figure salaries. Yet, CCDH has not provided an explanation of how they manage to pay dozens of staff members with the reported funds. The Washington Free Beacon recently disclosed that the Open Society Foundations of George Soros database shows a $250,000 donation to CCDH in 2024. However, where does the organization source the rest of its funding for censoring free speech?
It’s time for the Department of Justice to demand answers.
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