A Christian charity accused of misappropriating £16m and whose founder was caught on camera slapping a woman accused of witchcraft, has been cleared of wrongdoing by the Charity Commission.
Concerns were raised by an investigative journalist about the London-based charity, World Mission Agency - Winners Chapel International. But the regulator said yesterday that concerns about the charity were "not substantiated".
The journalist reported a number of concerns including suspected financial irregularities and issues about the protection of “vulnerable” beneficiaries.
Among a catalogue of accusations, the charity was alleged to have transferred large sums of money to its sister organisations in Nigeria.
It was also alleged that church members were encouraged to recruit vulnerable people into the church so that they would contribute to the charity financially.
But the Charity Commission said yesterday that it was putting “on record” that the “very serious concerns were not substantiated”.
“Our review of the charity’s financial information identified minor discrepancies. However, the trustees were able to explain and resolve these,” the Commission said.
The regulator said there was "no evidence" that £16m "or any other amount" had been misappropriated. A review of the charity's accounts revealed effective compliance with the statement of recommended practice for charity accounting, it said.
"We were satisfied the charity could demonstrate good financial controls, appropriate for a large and expanding charity," it said.
The Commission also dismissed claims about the charity's mistreatment of beneficiaries.
“We did not identify any evidence to suggest beneficiaries of the charity are at risk. The [face-slapping] incident occurred in Nigeria and there were no incidents involving this charity.”
The regulator said that “reputational risk” after the face-slapping incident was managed by the charity taking legal advice, discussing the matter at trustee meetings, responding to press queries and issuing public statements.
The Commission said there was potential for conflict of interest following the employment of a relative of the founder but was “satisfied with the trustees’ decision making in respect of the employment”.
“They demonstrated that the conflict of interest was managed and that they had appropriate policies which were applied,” it said.
The regulator said it had provided the charity’s trustees with advice and guidance during the case study.
World Mission Agency - Winners Chapel International was approached by Civil Society News for comment but did not respond by the time of going to press.
