By Charlotte Webster-
The Charity Commission has announced that it has opened a statutory inquiry into the Islamic Education Centre and Mosque (1150827) in Sunderland. The inquiry has been opened due to regulatory concerns that there is, or has been, misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration of the charity.
The Charity Commission is the independent, non-ministerial government department that registers and regulates charities in England and Wales. Its purpose is to ensure charity can thrive and inspire trust so that people can improve lives and strengthen society.
The Commission proactively targets charities failing to submit accounting information within statutory deadlines. This work has ensured that compliance issues in 125 charities resulting in over £51 million of charity income have now being accounted
The Commission said it has previously engaged with the charity as part of a ‘class inquiry’ examining ‘double defaulters’, charities that have failed to file the legally required financial information for two or more consecutive years.
As part of the class inquiry the Commission ordered the Islamic Education Centre and Mosque to submit all outstanding accounting information by July 2020. Despite issuing frequent reminders this deadline was not met. The relevant accounting information was eventually filed on December 2021. The Commission is currently reviewing these submissions.
The charity’s failure to submit the necessary accounting documents on time has been a repeated pattern of behaviour. Prior to its submission last December, the charity had gone three years without filing the legally required financial information. This is of serious concern in relation to the trustees’ duty to be accountable and transparent to the public.
An insider at the Charity Commission told The Eye Of Media.Com: ” the charity has always been aware of its obligatory duties to provide the necessary accounting. The charity was issued with a 24 hour notice that an inquiry in their accounting would commence”.
The inquiry is examining a number of issues. The extent to which the trustees are complying with their legal duties in respect of their administration, governance, and management of the charity;
The extent to which any failings or weaknesses identified in the administration of the charity during the inquiry were a result of misconduct and/or mismanagement by the trustees;
Failure to comply with their statutory reporting duties including the timely submission of the charity’s annual reports and accounts to the Commission;
The ISLAMIC EDUCATION CENTRE AND MOSQUE states that the mosque serves the spiritual, religious and communal needs of area Muslims by means of nurturing their faith, upholding their values, and fostering the well-being of the surrounding community through worship, charity, education, outreach, and civic engagement.
However, the values of the charity in complying with the requirements of all charities is currently under question.