The Charity Commission removed a charity from the register and reported it to the police after uncovering fraudulent payment to trustees.

The charity, Yoruba Language and Cultural Heritage, became the subject of a statutory inquiry in 2013 after concerns were raised by two online platforms over suspicious donations processed through the website. It has been registered with the Commission since 2012.

An inquiry report published today says that concerns had been raised that payments had been made to the charity without the credit card holder’s knowledge. The two online platforms had both attempted to contact the charity and received no response.

The Commission went on to discover that a bank statement submitted to the Commission on registration was fraudulent, and that 12 cheques had been paid to two of the charities trustees, to the value of £14,070.

The inquiry wrote to the six individuals listed as charity trustees, but only two responded. The inquiry found no evidence to connect the two individuals to the charity, and it is believed their identities were stolen.

The Commission was unable to locate or contact the two trustees who had received funds from the charity.

No evidence was found that the charity, which had objects to advance the education of the public in the Yoruba language, heritage and culture, was acting for the public benefit.

The inquiry concluded that the failure of trustees to account for charitable funds amounted to misconduct and mismanagement. The regulator passed its concerns to Action Fraud and the police, and the charity was removed from the register in March 2015 as it was no longer operating.

Carl Mehta, head of investigations and enforcement at the commission, said: “Trustees must use charitable funds only to further the charity’s objects. The commission found in this case, that the individuals who registered it had provided false information to the commission.

“In addition, there was no evidence of charitable activity, there was evidence the donations were fraudulently obtained and diverted to the bank accounts for private gain and that the charity had been set up and used purely for this purpose. We take such cases very seriously and have reported this to Action Fraud and the police and have removed the charity from the register.”