The Mahfouz Foundation was registered in 2012 to advance the education of the public in the UK in the history, literature, language, institutions and culture of the Middle East.
The Commission began examining concerns about the charity in September 2021, following media reports alleging it had received funds that donors had intended for a different charity. The Commission’s engagement escalated to a statutory inquiry in November 2021.
Today’s report finds that the charity’s trustees were responsible for misconduct and mismanagement and were issued an official warning. The conduct of a former trustee, Michael Wynne-Parker, makes him unfit to serve as a charity trustee, and he has been disqualified from serving as a trustee or in a senior management position in any charity for 12 years.
The inquiry examined if a series of payments received by the charity from donors were used in accordance with their intentions.
The inquiry also examined the trustees’ overall management and administration of the charity and whether they discharged their legal duties and responsibilities.
The investigation found the trustees had allowed The Mahfouz Foundation’s bank account to be primarily used as a conduit to transfer funds on behalf of third parties.
On examining the charity’s financial records, the Commission found that the majority of transactions were for third parties, and those that were made out of the charity’s own funds did not further its charitable purposes.
This included deposits into the charity’s bank accounts that the donors believed were being made directly to the King’s Foundation (a charity registered in Scotland).
Among other findings, the inquiry identified that £193,730 of the donations intended for the King’s Foundation were transferred from the charity’s bank account to Mr Wynne-Parker’s private company’s bank account. The charity’s trustees authorised this transaction.
On 29 January 2024, Mr Wynne-Parker was disqualified from serving as a trustee or holding a senior management position in any charity for 12 years. The regulator oversaw the return of £106,270 to the donor, which was what remained in the charity’s bank account from the original deposits the donor had made.
The inquiry secured the repayment of £49,581 by the trustees to make good losses the charity had incurred due to misapplied funds. These funds can now be applied to a charity with similar purposes. On 5 October 2023, the Commission issued an official warning to the trustees of The Mahfouz Foundation under section 75A(1)(a) of the Act. The Mahfouz Foundation was removed from the charity register on 6 October 2023 as it no longer operated.
