The Charity Commission, the regulator of charities in England and Wales, has concluded its inquiry into Organisation of Blind Africans & Caribbeans (OBAC), finding four trustees responsible for serious failings.
The charity was set up to support blind and partially sighted members of African and Caribbean communities and provide services which included immigration advice, education and training.
An official inquiry report, published today, found that four trustees of the charity had not sufficiently overseen the actions of the charity's CEO, Ibukun Olashore, including by allowing her to continue acting as CEO following a serious conviction. The lack of action by the trustees enabled the CEO to have sole access to charity funds and use the charity to offer immigration advice illegally. As a result, the regulator has disqualified four trustees.
The Commission has now removed the charity from its public register after it was struck off by Companies House.
Background
In March 2021, the charity's CEO was charged with serious criminal offences. In April 2022, she was convicted of conspiracy to do an act to facilitate the commission of a breach of UK immigration law by a non-UK national and of conspiracy to possess/control identity documents with intent. As such, she was automatically disqualified from being a charity trustee or holding a position with senior management functions within a charity.
At her sentencing, the judge concluded that the CEO used the charity 'as a front' and that material evidence showed Ms Olashore was "using OBAC as a way of disguising [her] dishonest activities and potentially finding people with whom [she] could take money."
The regulator opened an inquiry after the trustees repeatedly failed to respond to requests for information, including a formal direction to submit information by legal order. It also had suspicions that the CEO remained at the charity despite her conviction.
Findings
In its report, the Commission finds that:
- even after being made aware of the CEO's convictions for serious criminal offences, the trustees failed to take any steps to address this matter, such as suspending the CEO and carrying out an internal investigation
- the trustees exerted insufficient oversight over the charity, allowing it to be used as a vehicle for criminal activity. Proactive intervention by the trustees may have helped mitigate the impact on the charity and prevent it from being misused for over 10 years
- for two years, the trustees exposed the charity to risk of criminal conviction by continuing to offer immigration services despite the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA) refusing to re-register the charity as an immigration service provider. The IAA rejected the charity's application in July 2022 which came into effect in August 2022
- the charity had been subletting its offices which was in breach of its tenancy agreement and this had been its only source of income since February 2023. When questioned, the trustees had no knowledge of the lease terms or who one of the subletters was
- the charity failed to report serious incidents at the charity, including the CEO's conviction, a break-in and threats made to staff by a beneficiary
- trustees repeatedly failed to respond to the Commission and either failed to provide sufficient answers or attend meetings when summoned in person
The Commission finds all of these failures amount to serious misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration, governance and management of the charity. The report , which contains the full findings, is available on gov.uk.
The regulator gave the trustees the opportunity to remedy their failings by issuing the charity a Regulatory Action Plan but the trustees failed to act. As a result, the Commission has disqualified the four most recently serving trustees. Ruth Bishop, Diib Jama and Rasheed Bello have been disqualified for 5 years. Dwight Watson has been disqualified for 3 years. The charity's CEO is automatically disqualified indefinitely.
Amy Spiller, Head of Investigations at the Charity Commission, said:
We expect anyone running a charity to do so honestly, and with integrity. To use a charity as a cover for criminal activity is wholly unacceptable and an abuse of trust. By allowing this to continue, the charity's trustees have also abused the trust placed in them and failed to uphold their legal duties.
The Commission will always take robust action if a charity is misused. We do this to prevent further harm and ensure that trust in the wider sector is protected. It was proportionate in this case to disqualify four trustees, all of whom failed to meaningfully engage with our inquiry."
