A Charity Commission-appointed manager of the charity Afghan Heroes is attempting to claim back £2.9m from a failed fundraising agency that passed on just 20 percent of money raised to charity.
The Charity Commission, which has an open statutory inquiry into the charity, today released a statement clarifying its position after The Sunday Times carried a story about the interim manager, which criticised the regulator for allowing other charities to continue to work with the same fundraiser.
It said the inquiry “remains ongoing” while the claim against the charity's former professional fundraiser is being “progressed by the charity’s interim manager and the potential for other claims are explored”.
Liquidation documents of the fundraising agency Prize Promotion listed on Companies House, reveal that interim manager of Afghan Heroes, Brian Johnson, submitted a claim for the balance of £2.9m on the grounds that no contract was in place with the charity.
Prize Promotions, which entered into administration earlier this year, is owned by Tony Chadwick who is linked to a network of military charities that are accused of raising millions of pounds of public money but spending proportionately little on charitable work.
According to the Sunday Times, Chadwick disputes claims that his company Prize Promotions did not have a contract with Afghan Heroes, saying the contract was “agreed verbally and via emails”.
Chadwick was approach for comment this morning but did not respond by the time of going to press.
On Sunday, he told the Times, he made a “terrible” living from his agencies and insisted that Targeted Management was “not a professional fundraiser”. He also said the 80 per cent cut taken by his agencies was “clearly marked” on literature and street stands.
Despite the Charity Commission’s action against Chadwick, the regulator continued to allow other charities to work with him, including Our Local Heroes and Support the Heroes.
One of Chadwick’s existing agencies, Targeted Management, worked with the charity Our Local Heroes, which last year raised £500,000 but spent just £10,000 on charitable works.
This morning Johnson told Civil Society News it was the “responsibility of the joint Liquidators of Prize Promotions Limited to investigate, establish and pursue claims in the context of the liquidation”.
Civil Society News approached administrator CVR Global for comment but did not hear back by the time of going to press.
Liam Fox connection
Afghan Heroes boasts the controversial minister Liam Fox as a former patron. Fox stepped down from his role in 2013, citing a “breakdown in trust” after the charity failed to inform him is was being investigated by the Charity Commission.
Fox’s most recent charity involvement with the charity Give Us Time has also fallen under scrutiny after a BuzzFeed investigation revealed the charity failed to deliver its launch aims. In 2011, Fox was involved with a third charity Atlantic Bridge which shut down after a member of the public complained that it was being run as a party political organisation.
