The Charity Commission is investigating a London-based Muslim charity after concerns about its trustee elections.
It has opened a statutory inquiry into Newbury Park Masjid, which exists to advance Islam amongst people living in Redbridge.
The Commission previously identified concerns about the charity’s governance and constitution in 2022 and issued it with an action plan and order to provide information to ensure its AGM and trustee elections were held lawfully.
However, the regulator said the charity failed to follow these actions and orders in full and went ahead with elections without acting on its advice.
The Commission said it now appears that most of the trustees currently listed on the public register have remained in office longer than the constitution allows, meaning that the charity does not have enough properly elected trustees to make decisions.
As a result, the regulator has escalated its involvement with Newbury Park Masjid to a statutory inquiry, which opened on 25 June 2024.
Scope of inquiry
The inquiry will examine the extent to which the trustees have and are complying with their legal duties, in particular their compliance with the charity’s constitution.
It will also look at whether there has been any misconduct or mismanagement by the trustees in the administration of the charity.
The Commission may extend the scope of the inquiry if additional regulatory issues emerge.
Data for the financial year ending 31 March 2023 puts the charity’s total income at £224,000 and expenditure at £108,000.
Civil Society has contacted the charity for comment.
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