THE Scottish charity regulator has halted a move by a public trust to approve a multimillion-pound investment in its own wind-farm company just days before the local government elections.

The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) said it stepped in to stop the Shetland Charitable Trust from approving a £6.3 million payout to Viking Energy because the charity's trustees may change by the end of the week, after the elections.

Viking Energy Ltd is a partnership between Shetland Islands Council and Scottish & Southern Energy and is 90% owned by the trust.

OSCR said it was examining a potential conflict of interest. A spokesman said: "Our regulatory interest in this matter extends only to whether the charity trustees are fulfilling their duties.

"In proposing to make or potentially taking a decision of this magnitude within days of a new trustee body being constituted as a result of the forthcoming council elections, it was difficult to see how the trustees were fulfilling these duties."