A charity umbrella body supporting recycling organisations in Wales, which is under statutory inquiry by the Charity Commission over substantial loss of charitable funds resulting from loans and investments, has made all its 16 staff redundant.
The Wales Community Recycling Network (Cylch), which received over £1m in funding from the Welsh government last year, was the subject of an internal audit investigation by the Welsh government early in 2013.
At the same time, the Charity Commission said it had received concerns about the charity.
Late last month, the Charity Commission opened a statutory inquiry into Cylch due to concerns around serious failings in the governance of the charity, conflicts of interest and substantial loss of charitable funds resulting from loans and investments.
A statement from the trustees of Cylch, this week, says "there are allegations of potential conflicts of interest involving the Cylch chief executive in that role and, in another role, as chair of Plastics Sorting".
Charity to conduct internal inquiry
The trustee statement continues that Clych has decided not to seek further core funding from the Welsh government after the conclusion of a temporary extension of its funding to the end of September 2013. The consequence of this will be that all Cylch staff will be made redundant from September 2013, and presumably the charity will close.
According to Cylch’s latest accounts, the charity has 16 staff.
The statement also says that the trustees of Cylch will oversee the discharge of Cylch's outstanding obligations to the Welsh government.
The trustees of Cylch have also initiated an internal inquiry into the issues raised by the investigations into the organisation.
A Welsh government spokeswoman said its internal audit into the charity would not be made public, but Cylch has received a copy.
Cylch is the Wales Community Recycling Network. It provides information, advice and support to existing and emerging community recyclers across Wales.
The Cylch membership comprises over 50 community waste minimisation, reuse, recycling and composting organisations throughout Wales.
Cylch had an income of £3.7m for the year ending March 2012. But it also reported a deficit of £870,412 and had to write off over £2m in this period.
