“As a consequence, a reputable firm of auditors is being engaged to perform an independent audit of the finances of these programs,” the spokesperson said. “Pending the outcome of this work, Mrs Rinehart tended her resignation as an honorary member of the advisory board of SISHA. The advisory board is not responsible for the running of SISHA or its daily management.” The spokesperson said Mrs Rinehart did not wish to reveal how much she had donated to the organisation or comment on whether she was satisfied with the way her donations had been spent. However, Mrs Rinehart was “very pleased” to support the scholarship program and the girls benefiting from it and intended to continue the program “one way or another”. An Australian-registered not-for-profit organisation, SISHA's website says it conducts investigations, trains police and provides legal support and aftercare for victims. Mr Morrish was a detective senior constable with Victoria Police before going to Cambodia and founding SISHA in 2007. According to his profile on the business networking site LinkedIn, he is managing director of SM Services Group, which provides security services, and SMCS Investments Co. Ltd. He is also president of the Cambodian Eagles Australian Rules Football Club.

SISHA issued a statement Friday saying that Mr Morrish had been replaced as chief executive of the organisation by SISHA's Thailand country director Ron Dunne. In the statement, Mr Morrish said he planned to fight the allegations. “I want to thank the board, our staff, and our donors for their support over the years. We have achieved a lot at SISHA and I will always be proud of that,” he said. “However a campaign of online attacks against me personally was starting to affect SISHA, and after putting six years of my life in to SISHA I could not allow that to happen. “Standing down will also allow me to better pursue the defamatory and unfounded allegations made against me. The board of SISHA has engaged KPMG to undertake an independent review, and I'm confident that this will put to rest allegations of financial impropriety against me.” Mr Morrish's resignation came after a letter was sent to the board of SISHA's US arm by former SISHA US executive director Sean Looney. The letter, containing allegations about SISHA's finances and Mr Morrish's conduct, was leaked to the media and various Cambodian blog sites.

In the letter, Mr Looney advises the remaining board members to resign to avoid “legal and financial risk” from being associated with the organisation. “The situation is untenable, the wheels are coming off, and the fall is near,” he wrote. Mr Looney's letter includes a transcript of a Skype text chat during which he is summarily dismissed by Mr Morrish for refusing to transfer $US30,000 ($32,646) intended for the girls' scholarships into SISHA's general expenses account. Three other SISHA staff resigned in the wake of Mr Looney's dismissal. SISHA's board chairman Stephen Higgins, a former CEO of Cambodia's ANZ Royal Bank, said in an email that SISHA still had “in the hundreds of thousands (plural not singular) in earmarked cash balances”.

“The board has received assurances regarding the appropriateness of spending being in line with donor wishes, and has requested an independent review to confirm this,” he said. He added: “The board is confident that with the ongoing support of donors that SISHA will continue to support victims of human trafficking and sexual assault in Cambodia, along with fulfilling its scholarship and orphanage programs.” Correction: This article originally stated Mr Morrish asked Mr Looney to transfer $US128,000 intended for the girls' scholarships and CamKids into SISHA's general expenses account. It should have stated $US30,000 intended for the girls' scholarships.