Regulator uses statutory powers to suspend charity trustee
The Charity Commission has used its powers under s.19A of the Charities Act 1993...
...to issue a direction to the trustees of the Al Ikhlas Foundation to regularise and strengthen its governance arrangements. This follows an inquiry into the charity following the arrest of one of the charity’s trustees, Abbas Taj, as a result of what was at the time an alleged involvement in an arson attack, although he was later charged and convicted. Mr Taj had been temporarily suspended from office to protect the charity from further risk to its reputation and assets while the court case was pending.
Although most investigations by the regulator are dealt with on a non-statutory basis – ‘regulatory compliance cases’ – the statutory inquiry under s.8 of the Charities Act 1993 will get used in ‘cases of significant risk and more serious regulatory concern’. This was one of them.
Moira Protani, head of charities at Wilsons LLP told Caritas: ‘The Commission is conducting a lot of so-called "regulatory compliance cases". Although such cases have no specific legal authority, they are conducted in the same vein as statutory inquiries and it is only where the Commission needs to exercise a regulatory power that it opens a formal inquiry under s. 8. Doubtless this reduces Commission costs which is an important consideration given its rapidly diminishing budget.
‘The Charities Act 2006 introduced section 19A. It is a very wide power and exercisable after an s.8 inquiry has been opened. If the Commission is satisfied that there is or has been any misconduct or mismanagement in the administration of a charity or that it is necessary or desirable to act, broadly speaking to protect the charity's property, the Commission can by order direct trustees, officers or employees or the charity itself to take any action specified in the order which the Commission considers to be expedient in the interests of the charity.’
Author: Clarissa Dann
Clarissa Dann was the editor of Caritas as well as an HR and management online service,he People Bulletin until July 2011.
She is now the editor of the specialist trade finance magazine, Trade and Forfaiting Review which can be viewed at www.tfreview.com but does write on charity finance and investment from time to time.
Clarissa has a background in legal and professional publishing, as well as business journalism and holds an MBA from
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