The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into Life Line Missions over what the regulator describes as ‘substantial discrepancies’ between the charity’s stated income and expenditure and information from its bank accounts
London-based Life Line Missions has objects for the advancement of the Christian religion and the relief of poverty.
The charity failed to meet its legal duty to file its accounts for the financial year ending 31 March 2011 and 31 March 2012 because of missing the deadlines and became part of the commission’s double defaulter class inquiry in November 2013.
The Charity Commission obtained information from Life Line’s bankers which showed that the charity’s bank accounts were closed in December 2013. They regulator also identified substantial discrepancies with income and expenditure disclosed by the charity in its accounts, annual returns and with the charity’s bank statements.
Life Line reported annual income of £126,896 in 2011, £255 000 in 2012 and £147,000 in 2013. For all three years, expenditure was equal to income, which fell to just £7,000 in 2014.
The Charity Commission’s wider investigation will now look at whether the trustees maintained adequate accounting and financial controls and records and ensured the charity’s expenditure is a proper application for the charity’s purposes.
It will also examine whether the trustees complied with the charity’s governing document and discharged their duties to safeguard the charity’s property.
The Charity Commission has said it will publish a report once its inquiry has concluded.
