Citizens Advice Scotland has confirmed it has suspended its chief executive Margaret Lynch, pending an investigation.

The reason for the investigation is currently not known.

Lynch has been chief executive of the consumer, money and welfare advice charity since July 2012 and “led the organisation through a considerable period of growth and change”, according to a statement on her Linkedin profile.

A spokesman for Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) would not give reasons for Lynch’s investigation but confirmed that she was “currently suspended".  

He said the charity was currently “unable to make any further comment”.

A report by the Sunday Herald said Lynch has been off work “for around a month” while the investigation took place.

CAS went through a succession of chief executives in the years before Lynch took up her post, losing two leaders in two years. In her three years at the helm of CAS, Lynch increased its income from £5.2m per annum to £14m, according to her Linkedin statement.

Lynch was formerly director of the Scottish Mediation Network and quality matters coordinator for the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations.

She describes herself on Linkedin as a “strategic thinker with an ability to lead organisations which punch above their weight”.