The Charity Commission has found that the CEO of a charity appointed himself trustee and set himself an unauthorised yearly salary of £40,000 in addition to misleading the public during fundraising partnership.

Sikh Channel Community Broadcasting Company Limited operated a television channel, which was based in Birmingham, to advance the knowledge of the Sikh faith.

An official inquiry report found that the former trustees of the charity had not sufficiently overseen the actions of the charity’s then CEO, which in turn led to failures in the administration, financial control and governance of the charity.

A new board of trustees was appointed over the course of the inquiry, and they took the decision to wind up and dissolve the charity. Additionally, the former CEO has formally undertaken not to act as a trustee or in a senior role at a charity for ten years.

The Commission began engaging with the charity in 2019, after concerns arose about the charity’s fundraising partnership with the unregistered organisation Sikh Youth UK, an organisation which was already subject to a statutory inquiry.

Concerns were also raised about the relationship between the charity and companies connected to the charity’s CEO.

In its report, the Commission found that the trustees failed to manage a clear conflict of interest in relation to the appointment of the CEO of the charity. The CEO, who was also a trustee at the time, appointed himself to the role without an open recruitment process, and in breach of the charity’s governing document.

The trustees were all family members of the CEO, and inquiry found that the trustees had insufficient control and oversight of his actions, leading to breaches of charity law.

The CEO, at the relevant times, acted as a de-facto trustee, and set himself a yearly salary of £40,000, which was unauthorised. Additionally, the inquiry found that the charity made a bank transfer for £654 to a private company owned and directed by the CEO.

The charity also began a fundraising partnership with an unregistered organisation, Sikh Youth UK. It organised a fundraiser, stating that money raised would pay for Sikh Youth UK support workers.

However, the Commission found that it misled members of the public by not stating that 40% of their donations would be kept by the Sikh Channel Community Broadcasting for its general expenditure.

As a result, thee CEO of the charity gave a formal undertaking that he would not act, be appointed, or accept a position as trustee or senior manager of any charity including non-registered charities and would refrain from acting as a trustee or senior manager for a period of ten years without the express written permission of the Commission.

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