The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into the Gorgias Charitable Trust (registered charity number 1178051).
The charity is based in London and has general purposes to advance the Christian religion, and to promote healthcare.
The Gorgias Charitable Trust was registered in April 2018 and declared that it had no income the following financial year.
The regulator has serious concerns as to the accuracy of the information provided in 2019, as the charity appears to have been operating and has seriously understated its income.
Since then, it has failed to file any accounting information with the Commission, which constitutes misconduct and / or mismanagement in the administration of the charity.
There are also concerns about unauthorised trustee benefits, including payments made to a trustee for services rendered in FYE 31 December 2020.
As a result of its concerns, the regulator has taken protective action to temporarily freeze the charity's assets, under section 76(3)(d) of the Charities Act 2011.
The inquiry will examine the extent to which the trustees are complying or have complied with their legal duties in respect of the administration, governance and management of the charity, with particular regard to:
- the trustees' compliance with their statutory accounting and reporting responsibilities
- the financial management of the charity
- whether there has been any unauthorised private benefit to the trustees and/or connected parties
The scope of the inquiry may be extended if additional regulatory issues emerge during the Commission's investigation.
It is the Commission's policy, after it has concluded an inquiry, to publish a report detailing the issues examined, any action taken, and the inquiry's outcomes.
