Top Criminal Lawyer Explains Captain Tom Charity Investigation

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LBC Radio with Tom Swarbrick: Fraud Specialist Lawyer Joseph Kotrie-Monson of Mary Monson Solicitors explains the Charity Commission’s compliance investigation into the Captain Tom Foundation.

09/02/2022

(Note of interview)

You had to have a heart of stone to not find the story of Captain Tom wonderful. The news about an investigation into the Captain Tom Foundation might seem concerning, but I think there may well be a lot less here to see than the newspapers who have leapt on this would have us believe.

The first thing to say is that this is a statutory compliance investigation, and bureaucratic in nature. It’s not being conducted by the police, not by the SFO, but by the charity commission which regulates not just foul play, because in many cases there is zero suggestion of anything underhand. It also acts as a supervisor and educator to charities, especially smaller and less experienced charitable organisations. The reports that they produce after investigations often contain guidance, and the emphasis of the regulator is not really punitive.

The story of the Captain Tom Foundation begins in May 2020, early in the rocketing to fame of the nation’s most loved centenarian.

Initially, the Foundation appears to have conducted not just fundraising but also to have provided support to Captain Tom Moore’s fundraising efforts. We remember of course his fantastic walks, but those mobile videos that went viral soon became a nationally coordinated campaign which no doubt involved a back room that many of the public wouldn’t have been aware of.

This may of course have been vital work, and may have cost money, but wouldn’t necessarily have resulted in donations back to the foundation itself – remember he and his family working with him on the campaign were at the time for the most part urging people to donate directly to a named NHS workers charity.

What is being investigated by the Charity Commission appears to relate to what is called related-party payments, this is people who are connected to the charity, for example in this case as trustees who also receive money. Now, this is not inherently banned. People can be paid for good work, but there must be fewer than 50% of trustees being paid trustees. It appears that this was not the case throughout, although was remedied. Ms Ingram Moore and her husband Colin appear to have been trustees at the same time. There must also be ring-fencing of decision making about a charity spending this money to prevent the risk of an appearance of misuse of funds.

It is incredibly important to fairly point out that this was a charity set up to support fundraising efforts without notice, at speed, and to provide extra momentum to a fund-raising campaign of national importance. This family was not a group of experienced charities professionals. The idea that they spent more money than was raised is simply wrong. Other charities benefited in part from the support they provided Captain Sir Tom to the tune of tens of millions of pounds.

The support and advice that this time of statutory compliance investigation provides is something that charities that make administrative mistakes rely on and are regularly grateful for. In the absence of any suggestion of wrongdoing, and there really is none from the report I have seen, we shouldn’t be quick to do the usual British newspapers thing and watch our heroes fall undefended.
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