A children's cancer charity offered significant personal benefits to a convicted fraudster and to three of its four trustees, including the fraudster's wife, according to a Charity Commission report published today.
The Charity Commission opened a statutory inquiry into Kids Integrated Cancer Treatment in 2014 and has now concluded that there was “serious mismanagement and misconduct” after the charity failed to manage conflicts of interest and made unauthorised trustee payments.
In 2012 the commission received a complaint about the charity’s links to businessman Kevin Wright, who was married to one of the trustees, and who was later found guilty of stealing £1m from children’s cancer funds set up in his son's name.
The inquiry found that three of the four trustees received private benefit from the charity. This included unauthorised trustee payments.
One of the trustees was engaged as a contractor for the charity and told police that instead of wages they took payment from cash donations. Another was paid £150 per month to store files and £30 per month towards their phone bill.
During the course of the inquiry the charity closed and was removed from the register. The commission is now considering whether to use some of its new powers to take further action. It is consider “the fitness of those individuals to be trustees” and may use powers to ban them from becoming trustees in the future.
The regulator also criticised the charity for submitting misleading information to the charity and having poor financial controls and did not maintain adequate records.
The inquiry found that some support was provided to families with children suffering from cancer.
This was ‘absolutely unacceptable’
Michelle Russell, director of investigations, enforcement and monitoring at the Charity Commission, said: “While we found some evidence of charitable activity, there were numerous personal and business associations between the charity and the convicted individual, which led to significant financial personal benefits for him and his companies, and significant private financial benefit to three of the four trustees.
“That is absolutely unacceptable, as it goes against one of the most fundamental principles of charity, namely that charities exist to provide public, not private benefit.
“Those involved also allowed serious deficiencies to take place and mismanagement of and misconduct in charity. The trustees failed to comply with their duties and responsibilities and let down not just themselves, but also the people the charity was set up to help.”
Charity Commission freezes bank account of Hindu charity
The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry and frozen the bank accounts of a grantmaking Hindu charity.
Bhaarat Welfare Trust’s objects are to promote Hindu culture and religion through grants but the regulator has become concerned about its financial management.
The commission has been engaging with the charity since 2013, it found serious issues when it conducted a visit in 2015 and opened a statutory inquiry in January 2017 after the charity failed to address the commission’s concerns.
Trustees were unable to account for funds transferred to India between 2010 and 2015, according to the commission. It is also concerned about the basis on which donations for a specific project were held, unmanaged conflicts of interest and whether the charity had claimed Gift Aid validly.
The commission said it has further serious concerns relating to legal action taken by the charity in relation to dispute with another charity.
For the year ending March 2016 the charity had an income of £1.2m and expenditure of £1.3m.
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