iERA faces statutory inquiry

The Charity Commission has disclosed details on the opening of another inquiry into a Muslim charity. The charity regulator has opened a statutory inquiry into the Islamic Education and Research Academy, iERA noting concerns over “a number of regulatory issues connected to the charity’s approach and policies for organising events and inviting external speakers and its associated records and documents.”

The regulator on its website states that the inquiry will be “examining the decision making of the trustee body, specifically its due diligence and monitoring of speakers, various payments to trustees and a  former trustee and its relationship with the connected company, Islamic Education and Research Academy Limited.”

It is the third Muslim charity to be identified by the regulator in recent months after Chairman, William Shawcross, in an interview stated that “The problem of Islamist extremism and charities… is not the most widespread problem we face in terms of abuse of charities, but is potentially the most deadly. And it is, alas, growing.”

The Taskforce on Tackling Radicalisation last year also identified the charitable sector as one requiring deeper scrutiny asserting that “some extremist groups target charities and seek to exploit and benefit from charitable status”, though neither the Taskforce report nor the Charity Commission itself has substantiated the claims with evidence-based analysis.

The Home Affairs select committee report into Counter-terrorism published on Friday, also overviews charities, briefly. It cites evidence from the Charities Commission raising concerns that “a small minority [of charities] might be at risk from their funding being diverted for terrorist purposes or for charity personnel using the charity as a cover for travelling overseas or raising funds” adding that “more than a fifth of its 48 current terror investigations now relate to Syria”.

The select committee also draws attention to the problems faced by charities engaged in  trouble spots, like Syria and Somalia, where terrorism financing legislation and risk-aversion in the banking sector hinders the capacity of charities to fulfil their humanitarian missions. The report notes the work to be undertaken in this area by the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, David Anderson QC, following a “UN recommendation that more work needed to be done to reconcile counter-terrorism measures and humanitarian effort.”

The Home Affairs select committee is able to draw on a couple of sources in its overview of the charitable sector, among them the Henry Jackson Society, with which the Charity Commission chair has a prior association. The HJS told the inquiry:

“The Charity Commission has demonstrated limited abilities to tackle fundraising by U.K.-based charities for terrorist purposes, and, more broadly, to vet or disqualify unsuitable charitable trustees by virtue of their association with terrorism.”

Given the select committee’s allusion to the Charity Commission’s lack of resources, it is worth noting the closure of the Faith and Cohesion Unit in the Charity Commission, due to lack of funds, in 2010. The Unit was tasked with proactively engaging the Muslim charitable sector to improve regulation and compliance with the law.

The select committee advances two recommendations in relation with concerns raised about charities and terrorism:

“We are deeply concerned with the potential for ‘bogus’ charities to dupe members of the public into raising funds which are eventually used to support terrorist activity. We recommend that the Charity Commission be granted extra resources and stronger legal powers to counter the abuse of charities by terrorists. We also recommend that the Charity Commission be able to undertake unannounced inspections in order to audit their accounts.

“We welcome the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation’s inquiry in to the impact of counter-terrorism legislation on charities and recommend that it be expanded to look at the scale of abuse of charitable status to support terrorist actions. We recommend that he assess the response to such abuse and suggest changes which will improve the ability of the authorities to tackle terrorist financing whilst ensuring that law-abiding charities can continue their vital work.”