The Charity Commission has banned the trustees of a religious charity after reclaiming more than £30,000 of its assets that had been converted into gold bullion.
In total, the regulator recovered almost £150,000 through its statutory inquiry into the Saint George Educational Trust (SGET) that had been owed in tax.
Its investigation found that the charity had posted content linked to the leader of a far-right political group as well as an Islamist terrorist organisation through its website and social media accounts.
It reported that there was significant financial mismanagement by SGET’s trustees including that the charity’s chair had allowed its bank account to receive donations from unknown sources.
The regulator removed the trustees in January 2025 and appointed interim managers, who will settle outstanding debts and redistribute any remaining funds to a charity with similar purposes before winding up the organisation.
It banned the trustees from holding a senior position at any charity in England and Wales.
Gift aid wrongly claimed
The commission found that the charity claimed £80,500 in gift aid from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), retaining 20% and transferring the rest to accounts unknown to the trustees.
It discovered more than £30,000 of charity assets had been converted into gold bullion held by individuals with no formal connection to the charity.
The regulator also found items such as rare books, said to be of religious significance and be worth over £10,000, belonging to the charity and kept in a storage unit.
With police assistance, the commission recovered and sold the gold bullion and repaid HMRC £146,000 in total for gift aid wrongly claimed by the charity, including a penalty.
“The trustees’ actions demonstrated a complete failure in their duty to act in the charity’s best interests,” the commission’s inquiry report states.
“There was no evidence that they conducted any checks on the entities transferring funds to the charity’s bank account, nor did they independently assess how the money was spent.”
‘Flagrant abuse of charity’
The charity, based in Hampshire, was registered in 1994 to carry out activities that advance the Catholic religion and education about the faith.
It has faced three statutory inquiries since 1997, with the current investigation opening in October 2022.
The latest inquiry was opened when the regulator identified concerns that the charity was engaging in activities, including online content, that did not appear to further its religious purposes.
It found that the charity’s website and social media had posted content linked to the leader of a far-right political group, which was not in furtherance of its charitable purposes.
Commission’s chief executive David Holdsworth said: “The generous British public can be reassured that deliberate abuse of charity is rare and as this case shows when it does occur, we act swiftly and robustly.
“This was a flagrant abuse of charity and a betrayal of the public’s trust.
“The commission’s actions during this ongoing inquiry mean that all the public money falsely claimed from HMRC has been repaid and we have ensured that the trustees can’t run a charity again.”
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