Commission investigates Christian charity over misappropriation of funds

27 Mar 2015 News

The Charity Commission is investigating a Christian charity over concerns relating to the repossession of the charity’s property and subsequent litigation and costs incurred by trustees.

The Charity Commission is investigating a Christian charity over concerns relating to the repossession of the charity’s property and subsequent litigation and costs incurred by trustees.

The Commission opened a statutory inquiry into the Christ Apostolic Church World Soul Winning and Evangelistic Ministry in February, although only made the announcement this week. It is investigating concerns that were raised in connection with the repossession by the bank of the charity’s land and property in London.

The bank sold the property for less than the mortgage, leaving a contigent liability of more than £452,000.

The Commission is also investigating “subsequent litigation and associated costs incurred by the trustees”.

The regulator opened an operational compliance case into the charity, whose objects are to advance the Christian religion and promote charitable work for the benefit of the poor, to look into those claims in September 2013. The Commission’s concerns were not resolved, so it went on to open the statutory inquiry.

The Commission will assess whether or not the former or current trustees of the charity “have discharged/are discharging their duties and responsibilities as charity trustees”. It will also assess whether there has been any mismanagement or misconduct on the part of those “acting in administration and management of the charity and to what extent”.

The investigation will also examine if there has been any misappropriation or misapplication of the charity’s funds. It will also look at the future governance of the charity given the “potential inability of the current trustees to manage and administer the charity in accordance with its governing document”.

In the last two years the charity has been late filing its accounts with the Commission, by 222 and 105 consecutively. Despite an income of £46,432 in 2013, it spent £496,432.

The charity has not yet responded to an invitation to comment.