A further charity whose former trustees have been sanctioned by the UK government following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been closed down, the Charity Commission has confirmed.
The regulator has announced that Genesis Philanthropy Group has been wound up with its remaining funds of £1.46m handed to other charities, including those supporting communities in Ukraine impacted by the conflict.
The move has been taken against the Jewish arts and heritage charity after its trustees, the Russian oligarchs Petr Aven, Mikhail Fridman and German Khan were named last year as ‘designated persons’ in relation to the Russian regime.
All three were found by the regulator to be responsible for misconduct and/or mismanagement.
The Commission notes that all three “took immediate steps to remove themselves from the charity” after being sanctioned by the UK government.
During its probe the Commission “immediately froze” the charity’s bank account and appointed an interim manager who found “there were significant challenges to the charity’s future viability and that the charity’s best course of action was to distribute its remaining funds as grants to similar charities, and then wind up”.
The inquiry also found that the trustees, by being subject to sanctions, had “damaged the reputation of the charity and charities in general”.
We’ve concluded our inquiry into Genesis Philanthropy Group.
— Charity Commission (@ChtyCommission) December 15, 2023
The charity’s remaining funds of almost £1.5m have been granted to charities with a similar purpose, and it will later be wound up.
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The regulator’s assistant director of investigations and compliance Steve Roake added: “We moved quickly in this inquiry to protect the charity’s funds following the designation of three of its trustees. The Commission is clear that designated persons are unable to discharge the duties of trusteeship without committing a criminal offence and we acted accordingly.
“The £1.46m of recovered funds will now have the positive benefit they were intended to, funding a range of charitable causes, including to support those in need in Ukraine.”
The Charity Commission’s announcement of action against Genesis Philanthropy Group comes days after the regulator revealed that another Russian linked charity, World Holocaust Forum Foundation, had also been shut down.
The Commission was particularly critical of Russian billionaire Dr Viatcheslav Kantor for failing to resign as a trustee from the charity after he was named a designated person following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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