PRESS RELEASE : Inquiry opened into North London religious charity, Keren Shmuel, over failure to submit annual accounting documents [April 2023]

The press release issued by the Charity Commission on 27 April 2023.

The Charity Commission is investigating Keren Shmuel’s repeated non-compliance with annual reporting requirements.

The regulator of charities in England and Wales has opened a statutory inquiry into Keren Shmuel following the charity’s repeated failure to file its annual accounting documents on time.

Keren Shmuel was established in 1996 for the advancement of the Jewish religion and religious education, which it achieves through grant-making.

The charity drew the regulator’s scrutiny in January 2017 when its annual return and accounts for the financial years ending 2014 and 2015 were still outstanding. Despite a final warning and deadline from the Commission, the required information was not submitted and the charity became part of the Commission’s class inquiry into charities failing to submit their annual accounting documents for two or more financial years.

As part of that inquiry, the Commission directed the trustees under section 84 of the Charities Act 2011 to submit the charity’s outstanding accounting documents. In March 2017, these documents were submitted and the charity ceased to be part of the class inquiry.

However, the trustees have twice since failed to meet their legal obligations to file the charity’s annual accounting documents on time, for the financial years ending 2019 and 2021. This is continuing evidence of the trustees’ misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration of the charity. It is the trustees’ legal duty to ensure that the charity’s annual accounting documents are submitted on time.

The trustees of Keren Shmuel have demonstrated repeated failure to comply with this duty, which warrants further investigation from the Commission as part of an inquiry. The inquiry will examine the administration, governance and management of the charity by the trustees. The inquiry will also examine:

• the financial controls and management of the charity
• the conduct of the trustees

The Commission may extend the scope of the inquiry if additional regulatory issues emerge.

It is the Commission’s policy to publish a report upon concluding an inquiry to detail its findings, conclusions, and any regulatory action taken.