Charity Commission to investigate North London Mosque

Governance | Vibeka Mair | 30 Mar 2010

The Charity Commission has opened an investigation into North London Central Mosque following a complaint from a former Labour MP trustee who has quit the charity in protest over an allleged forgery.

According to press reports, Labour MP and trustee Khalid Mahmood has complained that his signature was forged on the Mosque’s trust declaration, which was sent to the Charity Commission in March 2008 to demonstrate it was operating on a legal basis.

In response, the Commission has opened a regulatory compliance case to investigate.

But Mohammad Kozbar, secretary of the Mosque’s trustees has told Civil Society that at the time Mahmood asked fellow trustee, Mahmood Hassan, to sign the declaration on his behalf.

“We only found out recently that he asked one of the trustees to sign on his behalf,” said Kozbar. “We also sent him minutes about the minute at the time and he never raised any concerns. Now, a year and a half later he is claiming someone forged his signature.”

Kozbar also claims that Mahmood, who is a member of the parliamentary committee on tackling terrorism, has only attended one out of 22 trustee meetings.

According to The Times newspaper Mahmood and fellow Labour MP Mohammad Sarwar agreed to sit on the trust board in a deal backed by David Blunkett, then home secretary, and Tony Blair to reclaim the mosque for moderate Muslims.

Mahmood did not respond to enquiries.

Directory: Charity Commission

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