The Charity Commission has frozen the accounts of a Muslim aid charity and suspended a trustee as part of a statutory inquiry into alleged financial mismanagement, the regulator said today.

The regulator launched an inquiry into the Ummah Welfare Foundation (UWF) after two visits. The Commission said “concerns were identified regarding the governance and financial management of the charity” at the first visit and it “provided specific advice and guidance" which were not followed.

The Charity Commission said it found during a second visit in May this year that UWF failed to implement advice about governance of the charity or how to effectively deal with conflicts of interest. It also raised concerns about poor financial record keeping and “failure to adequately account for cash withdrawals, transfers and the proper end use of funds”.

The Commission said it will examine “whether or not the trustees have complied with and fulfilled their duties and responsibilities as trustees under charity law”.

Civil Society News contacted UWF for comment, but received no response.