Two charities have been wound up and £1.39m redistributed after their founder was sanctioned following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Kantor Foundation (KF) and Kantor Charitable Foundation (KCF) were dissolved and removed from the charity register on 30 May last year after Russian oligarch Viatcheslav Kantor was found responsible for misconduct and mismanagement.
Kantor, who ran both charities from their inception in 2017 via private company Kantor Trustees, was sanctioned in 2022 by the UK government, prompting investigations into KF and KCF by the Charity Commission.
After the investigations concluded, £1.39m in gift aid funds recovered by the commission from the charities were redistributed to several other organisations in the sector.
A violin, made in the 19th century by Italian Riccardo Antoniazzi and valued at £151,000, was also redistributed to another charity as it had been on loan from KF.
Timeline of events
Kantor was named as a “designated person” by the government under the UK’s Russia sanctions scheme, which meant it was a criminal offence for funds to be made available to him.
The regulator then opened inquiries into KF, KCF and a third charity connected to Kantor called the World Holocaust Forum Foundation (WHFF).
Their bank accounts were frozen and in May 2022 the commission removed Kantor as a WHFF trustee and disqualified him from holding that role again. He also ceased to be a Kantor Trustees director.
Meanwhile, the commission appointed interim managers at KF and KCF, who found that multiple outstanding gift aid claims were owed.
After settling the liabilities, the interims distributed the funds, more than £1.39m, via grants to several charitable organisations.
The total cost of the interim managers’ appointments was £459,000 – paid for by the charities’ funds.
KF and KCF’s operations were found to be no longer viable and it was decided that they should be wound up and dissolved in June 2023.
No trustees remained at the charities, nor were there directors at Kantor Trustees, who resigned after he was sanctioned.
Kantor Trustees ceased to exist on 30 July 2024 after a compulsory Companies House strike-off.
The commission closed its inquiry into WHFF in 2023 after the charity ceased to operate that year.
Million-pound injection ‘much-needed’ for sector
Joshua Farbridge, head of compliance and visits and inspections at the commission, said: “We are pleased some good can come to other charities and causes as a result of our intervention.
“Instead of assets lying dormant, or owed gift aid lost, we’ve been able to see a much-needed boost of over £1.3m into the sector.”
He also welcomed the move to gift the Antoniazzi-made violin to a charity which furthers musical education.
Farbridge said Kantor’s conduct as a trustee fell below the commission’s expectations and criticised his failure to proactively resign after being sanctioned and to cooperate with the investigations.
