The Charity Commission has launched an investigation into the use of funds raised by Viva Palestina, the aid organisation founded by George Galloway.
The Charity Commission has launched an investigation into the use of funds raised by Viva Palestina, the aid organisation founded by George Galloway.
The independent regulator and registrar of charities in England and Wales said last night it had begun a statutory inquiry into the use of "charitable funds" by the organisation, which is not a registered charity.
The commission, which also said it had concerns "over financial governance arrangements relating to the use of funds", said the inquiry was launched after repeated attempts to contact the organisation, also known as Lifeline for Gaza.
The appeal claims on its website to have raised more than £1m in just four weeks through various public fundraising events to provide humanitarian relief to Gaza.
An aid convoy of 100 vehicles led by the Scottish politician delivered medical supplies to Gaza last month.
A spokeswoman for the Charity Commission said last night: "We are concerned to ensure that the appeal is registered as a charity and that the duties that this has in terms of financial and accounting requirements are followed. But in addition we have concerns over financial governance arrangements relating to the use of funds."
"The commission has attempted to contact the appeal on repeated occasions over the last month in an effort to secure acknowledgement that the funds are held for charitable purposes. However, to date, the commission has had no substantive response to the issues that have been raised, either from the appeal or individuals connected with it."
During the inquiry, the commission has the power to suspend any trustee, officer, agent or employee of the charity, to freeze bank accounts, and to appoint an interim manager.
The regulator says its aims in using these powers are to prevent the continuation or repeat of any misconduct or mismanagement, if necessary by removing those responsible or by placing charity assets under other control.
A spokesman for Viva Palestina said: "This comes as a complete surprise to Viva Palestina.
"We have been in correspondence with the Charity Commission about the campaign and we will be seeking clarification."
Sally Michel, one of the Viva Palestina organisers, claimed last night the organsation could not be a registered charity because it was deemed to be a "political campaign with humanitarian connotations". She likened the group to Amnesty International.
Last month, the commission said another charity backed by the 54-year-old Respect MP working in the West Bank and Gaza Strip did not do enough to check that partner organisations were not promoting terrorism.
It carried out an inquiry into Palestinians Relief and Development Fund (Interpal), which was Mr Galloway's chosen charity when he appeared on Celebrity Big Brother three years ago.
The commission concluded it could not verify claims that certain partner organisations funded by the charity might be promoting terrorist ideology or activities. But it said the charity had not put in place adequate monitoring procedures to be satisfied this was not happening.
Two years ago, the Charity Commission found the now-defunct Mariam Appeal set up by Mr Galloway received sizeable funds from "improper transactions" under the UN Oil-for-Food Programme intended to allow Iraq to sell oil on the world market in exchange for food, medicine, and other humanitarian needs.
It was a charge Mr Galloway branded "a complete and utter lie".
