Charity to be wound up and two trustee to be disqualified after enquiry by Charity Commission

13th October 2020

On 28th August 2020 the Charity Commission published a report on two inquiries into Aid Convoy. The charity was involved in organising aid convoys on the border between Turkey and Syria. However, after the inquiry the convoys were suspended and the charity switched to collecting and shipping aid from the UK to Syria and Turkey.

The first of the two inquiries conducted concluded that the trustees had failed to keep adequate accounts; failed to keep records of the charity’s transactions and activities, the use of funds or the cash couriers; as well as failing to report two separate cash seizures.

The second inquiry was a more in-depth visit by the Charity Commission which found that the charity had significantly underreported their income, gave false or misleading information in their annual returns and paid funds into a trustee’s personal bank account. As well as this, the charity was found to have handled donations of controlled substances (including morphine) without a licence.

This resulted in the charity being appointed an Interim Manager. When the trustees failed to co-operate with them, the IM determined that the charity had no future. It was wound up and two trustees have been disqualified for a period of eight years.