The charity, based in Port Talbot, has objects to promote the regeneration of the local area, the provision of education and training and the relief of poverty. Its annual income is around £1.5m.

In May 2016 the charity reported a serious incident to the Commission outlining that there had been a theft at the charity, with £90,000 of the charity’s funds unaccounted for. The Commission immediately opened a case to monitor the charity’s response, and the matter was then referred by the charity to Action Fraud and the police.

The Commission has also been liaising closely with the Welsh Government (a major funder of the charity) who have expressed concerns about the governance of the charity.

The regulator now says it has serious concerns about the charity’s governance and internal controls and the apparent failure of the trustees to remedy these issues, placing the charity’s property and its operations at risk. In view of this the Commission opened a statutory inquiry in February 2017.

This will examine the financial controls, management and application of charitable funds, property and assets belonging to the charity; its governance and management by trustees, particularly whether the trustees have acted prudently and exercised reasonable care in respect of the day-to-day running of the charity; and whether the charity’s decision making process is adequate, in particular how it has managed conflicts of interests.

The Commission stresses that opening an inquiry is not in itself a finding of wrong doing. The purpose of an inquiry to examine issues in detail and investigate and establish the facts so that the regulator can ascertain whether there has been misconduct and mismanagement.

It will publish a report when the inquiry has concluded detailing the issues identified and the actions undertaken.