Commission appoints interim manager to Jole Rider Friends after suspending trustees

4 Jan 2019 12:42 PM

Regulator’s action prompted by continued governance concerns.

The Charity Commission has today (4 January 2019) appointed an interim manager to Jole Rider Friends (1112914) after it suspended trustees following continued concerns about the charity’s governance.

Interim managers are appointed to take over the running of a charity where the Commission has identified misconduct or mismanagement, or there is a need to protect the charity’s property.

The Commission opened a statutory inquiry into Jole Rider Friends on 5 September 2017, to address significant regulatory concerns, which included outstanding annual accounts and concerns about potentially unauthorised payments to trustees and inadequate stock control.

The inquiry has already taken protective action to safeguard charitable funds. In September 2017 it issued orders under section 76(3) of the Charities Act 2011 to restrict expenditure by the trustees. The trustees appealed the orders, however this was dismissed by the Charity Tribunal, who agreed that there had been misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration of the charity as a result of the unauthorised remuneration paid to two trustees, failure to engage with regulatory advice and failure to file accounts on time.

Although the trustees have since submitted the outstanding accounts, the Commission continues to have serious regulatory concerns regarding the charity’s governance, in particular relating to management of conflicts of interest and risk to the charity’s property.

On 2 January 2019, both the trustees of the charity were therefore suspended from their roles as charity trustees under section 181B(4) of the Charities Act 2011, and the inquiry has today made an order under section 76(3)(g) of the Charities Act 2011 to appoint Geoff Carton-Kelly of FRP Advisory as interim manager. He will take over full control of the day-to-day management and administration of the charity until the Commission makes a further order.

This appointment is being undertaken on a pro bono basis.

The Commission’s investigation continues; it intends to publish a report setting out its findings on conclusion of the inquiry. Reports of previous inquiries are available on GOV.UK.

Notes to editors:

  1. The interim manager appointment is a temporary and protective power that will be reviewed at regular intervals. It will continue until the Commission makes a further Order for its variation or discharge.
  2. In September 2017 the Commission made an order under section 76(3)(d) restricting payments from the charity’s bank account (and an account associated with the charity). The Commission also made an order under section 76(3)(f) restricting the use of the charity’s credit card.
  3. The Charity Commission is the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales. For more information see the about us page on GOV.UK.
  4. Search for charities on our online register.

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