(Immediate Release 27 August 2010)

The Charity Commission, the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales, has published a report on its inquiry into the charity, African Aids Action, (registered charity no.1087378). The charity’s object is ‘the relief of people suffering from HIV, in particular but not exclusively people from Africa and the Caribbean by the provision of confidential mother tongue counselling and advice, and through the improvement of access to HIV/AIDS treatment in Africa’.

The Commission received a complaint in May 2008 following allegations made concerning the operation of the charity and the role of the Chair of trustees. A statutory inquiry was opened on 26 August 2008 to examine possible concerns about financial management including the use of, and accounting for, charitable funds.

The details of the Commission’s inquiry and its full findings are set out in the report published today.

As a result of the inquiry, the Commission has made clear to the charity trustees the steps that they need to take to resolve the issues of non-compliance with their legal duties and responsibilities. These include making improvements to the charity’s governance, financial management and fundraising structures. The trustees have been advised that they would be given time to implement these steps, following which the Commission would monitor and check that these steps had been taken.

The report contains a number of important wider issues for the charity sector. It highlights the importance of financial transparency to demonstrate to funders and to maintain the confidence of the public who give money to charity that their donations have been properly used. It also sets out the importance of trustees having regard to their legal obligations about keeping proper and sufficient accounting records and ensuring financial controls are in place.

Full details of the investigation can be found on the Charity Commission’s website.

Ends.

PR 61/10

For further information, please contact the press office.

Notes to Editors

1. The Inquiry was opened in August 2008 and its substantive investigations concluded on 11 November 2009. The inquiry closed formally today with the publication of the Commission’s report.
   
2. The Charity Commission is the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales. See www.charitycommission.gov.uk for further information or call our contact centre on 0845 300 0218.
   
3. Our mission is: to ensure charities’ legal compliance, enhance charities’ accountability, encourage charities’ effectiveness and impact and to promote the public interest in charity.
4. The Commission conducts two kinds of investigation cases. Most concerns are dealt with through non-statutory investigations called ‘regulatory compliance cases’. However, in cases of significant risk and more serious regulatory concern we may open a statutory inquiry under section 8 of the Charities Act 1993. The decision to open a statutory inquiry will be based on a number of factors, including evidence of serious suspicion of misconduct or mismanagement in the administration of the charity and/or risk to property. The criteria we use are set out in our Risk and Proportionality Framework for the Commission’s compliance work.
5. More information about the Charity Commission’s Compliance Division can be found in Charities Back on Track, a report on the themes and wider issues arising from the Commission’s compliance work. This can be found on the Commission’s website.