Actually, recycling was prohibited and the funds were left in public view right where they were donated - where they could be inspected by everyone.
But once people were paid for their services, they were free to spend their own money anyway they wanted.
Bottom line: funds were limited to covering expenses and paying developers and developers are people with rights to do what they want with the money they earn.
And despite that openness, AGS donations by team members were regarded with suspicion in the greater crypto community.
...and you use the term "greater" with all due respect.
:o)
Heh, "greater" here is only in the sense of "bigger." Not to be confused with "more open-minded" or "smarter" or anything like that. :)
But in my future discussions on this, rest assured that I won't paint AGS as a scam and I'll strive to distinguish between unethical recycling and ethical dev contributions.