The Charity Commission has appointed an interim manager to the Dudley Central Mosque and Muslim Community Centre as part of its ongoing statutory inquiry into the charity.
Interim managers are appointed as a “protective measure” when the regulator has identified misconduct or mismanagement in the charity or where there is a need to protect a charity’s property.
Virginia Henley, head of charities at HCR Hewitsons, was appointed as interim manager on 18 July 2022.
The manager’s role will be to review and revise the charity’s governing document and ensure the election of new trustees who will be responsible for taking the charity forward.
A statutory inquiry was opened into the religious charity last July after “extensive previous engagement” from the regulator.
The charity has undergone three regulatory compliance cases in the past four years, all of which examined issues created by an ongoing dispute between two groups representing the charity. The inquiry opened to examine these issues.
Charity: ‘The Commission should stop meddling and let us do our job’
A spokesperson for the charity told Civil Society: “We are very disappointed with the constant obstacles put in our path by the Charity Commission who are preventing us to carry out our duties. In August 2022, over a year now, the Charity Commission have been involved.
“We complied with their order back in October 2022 where they wanted an election to take place, we jumped all the hoops set by them, concluded the election in January of this year only to be told EIGHT months later they have appointed an interim manager.
“Despite constant requests to the Commission to allow us access to the accounts of the mosque charity so we can update the accounts which was a failure on the previous trustees, the Commission has refused to cooperate.
“It's clear the Charity Commission was disappointed we had won the election and their chosen team were unsuccessful hence they have appointed interim manager to ensure their chosen team wins.
“We respectfully submit that the Commission should stop meddling and let us do our job.”
