An aid charity has been removed from the register of charities after two statutory inquiries found that trustees failed in their legal duties and put it at risk of associations with terrorism.
Two former trustees of Aid Convoy have been disqualified from trusteeship and senior management functions for a period of eight years, according to a report published today.
The Commission first launched an inquiry into Aid Convoy in 2013 after the charity failed to account for half of its spending and the charity’s cash was seized by police at UK borders.
Financial concerns: £2.8m worth of goods not accounted for
The regulator found serious concerns about the charity’s financial management, and took action to freeze the charity’s bank account. Further probes found severe weaknesses in the charity’s processes for ensuring money and goods went to the people the charity was set up to help.
In 2016 the regulator issued an order directing the then trustees to take steps to improve the charity’s governance and financial management. A second inquiry was opened in 2018 after the charity’s then trustees failed to comply with this.
The second inquiry found that the charity was handling donations of controlled substances, including morphine, without the required licence. These were collected in appeals for shipments to Syria, “but the trustees did not know what was included in containers and so could not account for the end use of donations or be sure that they did not fall into the hands of terrorist organisations”.
The regulator’s investigations found trustees mishandled donations and could not account for around £2.8m worth of goods shipped to Syria.
There was also significant underreporting of the charity’s income.
Accounts filed for the year ending 1 April 2018 stated that the charity has generated £321,071.77 income during the year. This included both direct transfers into the charity’s account and cash donations.
However, the trustees also stated that the charity has sent “40-foot containers of essential aid from new and used clothes to tinned food, medical equipment etc delivered to Northern Syria at the average value around £25,000 each”.
It was not stated how many containers were sent during the reporting period, and the value of the donated goods was not included in the charity’s reported income.
That year the charity’s bank withdrew its services and the trustees failed to report this. The trustees then acted in breach of the charity’s constitution by paying funds into their personal bank accounts.
Former representative of the charity deprived of his UK citizenship
The Commission’s concerns were further exacerbated when a former representative of the charity, Tauqir Sharif, was deprived of his UK citizenship having been “aligned to an Al-Qaida aligned group”.
Al-Qaida is a proscribed terrorist organisation.
Sharif had acted as a representative of the charity on videos posted on its social media account.
When told to review the charity’s relationship with this individual, the trustees told the Commission “this is not a decision we are willing to rush into”.
The regulator's report criticises the charity’s trustees “for keeping inappropriate relationships”.
Interim manager appointed to take over charity
Due to the levels of mismanagement within the charity, the inquiry appointed an interim manager to safeguard the charity’s assets and review its future.
The interim manager met with the trustees on 5 November 2019, where the trustees advised that the charity lacked a stable bank account and fundraising platform, and that it was “on its last legs”.
The report finds that trustees failed to cooperate with the interim manager, and refused access to the charity’s social media and online platforms.
The interim manager said: “Due to the lack of cooperation, I have been unable to address the regulatory concerns identified by the Commission.”
After concluding that the charity “had no viable future”, he transferred the remaining assets, including £12,218 of charitable funds, to another charity before winding the charity up.
Aid Convoy was removed from the register of charities on 12 June 2020.
‘Ultimately the trustees did not honour the trust donors placed in them’
Tim Hopkins, assistant director of inquiries and investigations at the Charity Commission, said: “The action we have taken here, on behalf of the public, has protected the charity sector from further harm and held the responsible individuals to account.
“But this case highlights the damaging effects of trustees failing to properly safeguard or protect a charity from associations with terrorism. Ultimately the trustees did not honour the trust donors placed in them by giving generously to help people affected by the crisis in Syria.
“Good governance is not a bureaucratic detail – it underpins the delivery of a charity’s purpose to the high standards required under charity law and which the public rightly expect. The trustees failed to live up to those standards, committing repeated acts of mismanagement and misconduct, and aligning the charity to individuals whose past conduct posed a threat to their charity.”
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