The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into Total Healing World Outreach over concerns about financial decisions.

Total Healing World Outreach was established to advance the Christian faith in the UK and overseas, and to prevent and relieve poverty.

The regulator began engaging with the charity in June 2023 as trustees had failed to supply the charity’s accounts and financial information on time every year since its registration, except for the year ending July 2023.

The Charity Commission has now escalated its engagement to a statutory inquiry after a financial analysis uncovered unexplained payments made to several individuals and companies. The inquiry will examine the charity’s finances in more detail, including whether the loans taken out by the trustees were in the charity’s best interests.

The investigation will also consider if trustees are complying with their legal duties in respect of the administration, governance and management of the charity, specifically looking at the charity’s financial management, including the extent of any related party transactions, unauthorised trustee personal benefit and the trustees’ compliance with their legal obligations to file the charity’s accounts and annual returns on time and to an appropriate standard.

It will also look at if the trustees are adequately managing the charity in accordance with its governing document and in accordance with their legal duties the extent to which any failings or weaknesses identified in the administration of the charity are a result of misconduct and/or mismanagement by the trustees

The Commission may extend the scope of either inquiry if additional regulatory issues emerge.

---