Trustees of a charity that repeatedly failed to file its accounts with the Charity Commission were in breach of their legal duties, the regulator said today.

Vyoel Moshe Charitable Trust – a grantmaking charity with “general charitable aims”, failed to file accounts in time with the regulator for nine years, resulting in the opening of a statutory inquiry last year.

The charity’s trustees said accounts were filed late because the responsibility for their filing was designated to one individual who was unable to file them by the deadline “due to personal circumstances”. They also said their accounts were presented in a format that was time consuming to prepare.

But the regulator concluded the trustee’s reasons for late filing of accounts were no “justification for non-compliance”.

Carl Mehta, head of investigations and enforcement at the Commission, said trustees are “collectively accountable” for the filing of accounts – even if the reposnsibility is designaed to one board member.

“This case is about ensuring that all charities prepare and file accounts with the Commission, every year regardless of circumstances. The public have the right to see that the financial activities of charities are properly recorded and that their financial governance is transparent,” he said.

The charity currently has an income of £1.2m and expenditure of £1.3m, according to accounts filed in January 2016.

The regulator said the result of its enquiry ensured that accounts were filed on time in 2016 for the first time in nine years – bringing over £2m of charitable income “transparently and publically accounted for”.