The regulator says it also has concerns about potentially conflicted payments to people connected with the charity. As a result of its concerns, the Commission has frozen a bank account controlled by the charity.

Croydon Tabernacle’s objects include advancing the Christian faith, relieving people who are in conditions of vulnerability or hardship and promoting charitable purposes which might benefit the areas of Surrey, Greater London and other parts of the UK or the world.

The Commission has been engaging with the charity since November 2016 to examine its concerns; this included a meeting with the charity in February 2017. However the engagement did not resolve the regulatory concerns so a statutory inquiry has been opened.

The inquiry will examine the extent of risks to charity property and whether there has been misconduct or mismanagement in the administration of the charity and/or breaches of trust or non-compliance with charity law.

In addition it will look at whether potential conflicts of interest have been adequately identified or managed and whether connected party payments or transactions have been properly authorised.

It is the Commission’s policy, after it has concluded an inquiry, to publish a report detailing what issues the inquiry looked at, what actions were undertaken as part of the inquiry and what the outcomes were.

Report by Pat Sweet