The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into the running of Plymouth Islamic Education Trust (PIETY), over repeated failures to submit its accounts on time.

Late submissions over the last five years total 1,870 days and include submissions for the years ending November 2019 through to November 2023.

Its accounts for the financial year ending November 2020 were submitted more than two years late.

All have now been submitted, with the most recent for the year ending November 2023 showing its income was £224,600 and it spent £226,200.

The regulator says that it first engaged with the charity over failures around its statutory reporting requirements in 2014.

“Prior to the opening of this inquiry, PIETY had, on two separate occasions, been placed in the Commission’s ‘double defaulter’ inquiry for charities that have failed to file their annual documents for two or more years in the last five years,” said the regulator.

“Despite significant regulatory engagement on this matter by the Commission, the trustees have consistently demonstrated that they are either unwilling or unable to comply with their legal duties.”

Being investigated is whether the trustees are meeting their legal obligations, the extent to which they have complied with previous guidance and to identify any potential misconduct or mismanagement.

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