The Charity Commission has banned a former charity trustee after almost £200,000 in donations intended for King Charles’ Kings Foundation were transferred into his private company’s bank account.

Michael Wynne-Parker has been handed a 12-year ban from senior charity roles by the regulator, which said his conduct “makes him unfit to serve” as a trustee.

The ban has been made following the Commission’s investigation into Middle East culture charity Mahfouz Foundation amid media reports alleging it had received donations that were intended for the King’s Foundation.

During its probe the regulator found that £193,730 of King’s Foundation donations were transferred from the charity’s bank account to Wynne-Parker’s private company account.

Furthermore, this move was authorised by the charity’s other trustees at the time.

The Commission also found that the trustees had allowed the charity’s bank account “to be primarily used as a conduit to transfer funds on behalf of third parties”.

Most of its transactions were for third parties and those made from the charity’s funds “did not further its charitable purposes”.

The charity was removed from the register in October last year.

All the charity’s remaining money, amounting to £106,270, was handed back to the original donor.

In addition, a repayment of £49,581 was made by the trustees to “make good losses the charity had incurred as a result of misapplied funds”. These are being distributed to a charity with a similar purpose.

We've disqualified a former trustee of The Mahfouz Foundation and have secured the recovery of £50,000 of charitable funds.

Read more: https://t.co/ryG4dgKupL pic.twitter.com/hhDBXpyGsF

— Charity Commission (@ChtyCommission) September 5, 2024

“The trustees’ actions in this case demonstrated scant regard for the charity’s purposes, instead allowing the charity to be misused as a conduit for funds that were misapplied and misused,” said the Charity Commission’s critical case lead Angela Ascroft.

“All trustees of a charity are jointly responsible for ensuring its funds and bank account are used only to achieve its purposes.

“Our work in this inquiry demonstrates that we will not hesitate to take strong action where trustees fail in these essential duties.”

Last year a police investigation concluded with no further action taken into the King’s Foundation, amid accusations that donations had been used to influence the royal, when he was Prince Charles and his charity was known as the Prince’s Foundation.

Three years ago an independent investigation found evidence that the charity’s former chief executive Michael Fawcett coordinated with “fixers regarding honorary nominations for a donor”.

Its former chair Douglas Connell stepped down and Fawcett also quit that year.

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