UK CHARITY COMMISSION CLEARS YORUBA CULTURAL CHARITY ORGANISATION.

The Charity Commission, the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales, has opened a statutory inquiry into Yoruba Language and Cultural Heritage (registered charity number 1148023).

The inquiry opened on 28 April 2014, after concerns were raised by two online platforms who were concerned about suspicious donations processed through their websites.

The charity has objects to advance the education of the public in Yoruba language, heritage and culture. It has been registered since July 2012.

The inquiry has only been made public now as the regulator had to make a number of enquiries in relation to the finances of the charity and with other agencies. It has also had to test and verify the facts before making contact with the charity.

The regulator identified that all of the money donated to the charity between February 2013 and February 2014 was transferred from the charity’s account by way of cheques payable to two of the trustees. The bank account has now been closed.

The inquiry is examining:

• whether Yoruba Language and Cultural Heritage is established as a charity and is operating for the public benefit
• monies paid out from the charity to the trustees
• whether, and to what extent, the trustees have complied with and fulfilled their duties and responsibilities as trustees
• whether, and to what extent, there was mismanagement or misconduct on the part of the charity’s trustees

The purpose of an inquiry is to examine issues in detail and investigate and establish the facts so that the regulator can ascertain whether there has been misconduct or mismanagement; establish the extent of the risk to the charity’s property, beneficiaries or work; and decide what action needs to be taken to resolve the serious concerns, if necessary using its investigative, protective and remedial powers to do so.

It is the Commission’s policy, after it has concluded an inquiry, to publish a report detailing what issues the inquiry looked at, what actions were undertaken as part of the inquiry and what the outcomes were