The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into Devon Freewheelers after finding “potential irregularities” in its financial accounts.
Devon Freewheelers failed to file its accounts for the financial years ending 2020 and 2021 on time, which placed it into the regulator’s ongoing “double defaulter” inquiry.
According to the Charity Commission’s website, it filed its accounts for these financial years 546 and 196 days late, respectively.
After receiving the charity’s overdue accounts, the regulator identified “inconsistencies” when comparing the charity’s financial records against its bank statements.
The Commission said it is concerned about whether the charity is operating in line with its objectives and is properly managing conflicts of interest.
Income down from £1m to £164,000 in a year
Devon Freewheelers was set up to transport blood and medical equipment to the NHS and has been operating since 2009.
According to accounts filed with the regulator, the charity had a total income of £1.06m in 2020, up from £496,000 the previous year due to a boost in donations and grants.
This fell to £164,000 in 2021 and £161,000 in 2022.
Announced today, the regulator’s inquiry opened on 14 September and will examine whether there has been any unauthorised benefit or breach of trust by previous or current trustees.
It will look into whether there has been any misconduct or mismanagement at the charity.
The Commission will also investigate whether the trustees have identified and managed conflicts of interest in accordance with the charity's governing document and their legal duties.
Devon Freewheelers has been approached for comment.
