The Charity Commission has appointed interim managers to The Jalloh Charitable Trust and The Deacons Charitable Trust, which are under investigation over loans of £500,000 to a trustee.
Investigations found a £500,000 loan made out from Jalloh Trust to one of two trustees, and loans of over £150,000 were made to a trustee from Deacons Trust.
There were also purchases found of “a valuable collection of Judaica and other antique silver” from Jalloh Trust's bank accounts.
At Deacons Trust, additional payments were found totalling over £17,000, which may have paid school fees.
Karen Spears and Steven Law of RSM Restructuring Advisory LLP have been appointed as interim managers of both charities.
Commission freezes bank accounts
The Commission froze bank accounts at the two London-based grant-giving charities and opened statutory inquiries in May and June.
It also suspected a relationship between trustees Jeffrey Davidson and Alexandra Davidson, which presented “unmanageable conflicts of interest”.
The relationship called “into question whether key decisions have been made in the best interests of the charities or for the private benefit of the trustees”, said a statement from the Commission.
Income at The Jalloh Charitable Trust peaked in 2015 at over £300,000, according to accounts filed with the Commission, however spending that year was reported at only £4,000.
Its latest accounts for 2018 showed £21,000 in income and nothing spent.
Income at The Deacons Charitable Trust was reported to the Commission at over £80,000 in 2015, with its spending broadly matching income over the last four years.
Its 2018 accounts say £17,900 was raised in income that year, and £17,000 was expenditure.
|
Related articles
