The Charity Commission has opened an inquiry into an armed forces charity, frozen its bank accounts and restricted its fundraising, it announced today.

The Commission said in a statement it will be investigating the “administration, governance and management” of the Veterans Charity, which has objects to educate the public about the Normandy Landings, to maintain related public memorials, and to provide grants to charities which provide relief to the armed forces community.

It said it has concerns about its fundraising activities, its compliance with legislation, and trustees' abilities to properly safeguard funds.

The charity’s last accounts from 31 December 2013 show that it had an income of £153,781 and an expenditure of £157,248. Its accounts also show that it spent over £50,000 in 2013 on fundraising costs, more than it spent on any other activity. The organisation was also late filing its accounts in both 2009 and 2010.

According to the Commission website, the registered charity has only two trustees and no employees or volunteers.

According to its statement, the Commission opened its inquiry into the charity on 14 April 2015.

The charity has not been stopped from fundraising but its bank accounts have been temporarily frozen and any funds raised during the investigation will go into a bank account which is under the Commission’s protective control.

“The Commission is not stopping the charity from fundraising," the statement said. "But the regulator wishes to ensure that, whilst the inquiry is being conducted, the public can continue to have confidence that their donations will be used for the benefit of the armed forces community as intended.  

“The Commission has specified a range of controls that the charity must put in place for its fundraising collections, including at The Forces March which is scheduled to commence on 20 May 2015.”

The Commission said it could not specify what controls were in place.

A spokesman for the Veterans Charity told Civil Society News: "The trustees wish to make it clear that The Veterans Charity is fully co-operating with the investigators of The Charity Commission to answer their queries and we are working with them to ensure that the charity is complying with the regulations and laws governing charities.
 
"The trustees assure our many supporters and benefactors that everything is being done to protect the assets of the charity and that funds already donated and still to be donated will continue to be used in pursuit of our objectives in support of service veterans.
 
"The Forces March is going ahead from 20 to 24 May as planned and with the full agreement of the Charity Commission investigators."