Birmingham-based Sikh charity under investigation

A Birmingham-based charity which supports Sikh communities across the UK is being investigated over concerns about how it is managed.

The Charity Commission has requested that the Asthan Babe Ke Trust turn over £1.8m of assets, but say this has not happened.

The commission says it has “serious regulatory concerns” that the charity has not been properly managed by its trustees, as a result of an internal dispute.

A regulatory compliance case was opened in 2017 after concerns were raised regarding allegations of personal benefits, unmanaged conflicts of interest, invalid appointment of trustees, undeclared income and poor financial controls.

The commission then set the charity an action plan to help the trustees resolve the dispute and issues raised which included starting a mediation process.

“The Commission is concerned about whether the trustees have sufficient oversight and control over the charity’s funds, payments and records given that the charity is seemingly controlled and administered by an executive committee who manage the charity’s cash funds,” the watchdog said.

“The Commission is also concerned about the management of the charity’s freehold assets of almost £1.8m. In order to protect the charity’s assets, the Commission advised the trustees to vest its UK property in the Official Custodian. However, the trustees have so far failed to do so.

“The trustees have failed to make any meaningful progress against the regulator’s action plan. As a result the Commission has opened a statutory inquiry to address its concerns.”