The Charity Commission is investigating two Christian charities that potentially filed inaccurate accounts and have been operating with an insufficient number of trustees.
It opened two separate statutory inquiries into the Centre for Skills Enhancement and the Jesus Power House Ministries on 16 June to investigate potential misconduct or mismanagement in the charities’ administration, posing “significant risk” to their assets, beneficiaries and work.
Both charities are based in London, aim to alleviate poverty, support humanitarian causes and provide basic education, and have a common trustee, Onyekachi Anyanwu.
Jesus Power House Ministries was registered in 2009 and has filed an identical total income and expenditure of £478,000.
The Centre for Skills Enhancement was registered in 2006 and similarly filed a matching total income and expenditure of £227,000.
‘Insufficient trustees’
The Commission suspects that the charities supplied inaccurate financial accounts, omitted details about related party transactions and possibly misapplied funds in relation to unauthorised payments to their trustee.
The regulator said that the charities submitted accounts that do not comply with the Statement of Recommended Practice, and used its powers to freeze their bank accounts due to the concerns over financial mismanagement and risk to assets while it investigates these matters.
According to the Commission’s website, Onyekachi Anyanwu has been the sole trustee of the Centre for Skills Enhancement since 10 January 2020 and the sole trustee of Jesus Power House Ministries since 15 June 2015.
The inquiries will look at whether the charities have been operating with “insufficient trustees”, as they appear to have only one while their governing documents require three.
However, since the opening of the inquiries, Jesus Power House Ministries and the Centre for Skills Enhancement have informed the regulator that they have appointed three and two new trustees, respectively.
The regulator will also investigate whether the charities are accurately accounting for their funds and assets in accordance with legal requirements and whether the charities’ objects are being met and they are operating for the public benefit among other things.
The scope of the inquiry may be extended if additional regulatory issues emerge.
Both charities are yet to respond to a request for comment from Civil Society.
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