A BRADFORD charity is taking legal action following the launch of an inquiry by the Charity Commission amid concerns about its governance and financial management. 

The Olive Grove Foundation, which was previously based in the city centre’s High Point building, was established to help people affected by poverty, wars or natural disasters anywhere in the world.

Announcing the statutory inquiry, the Charity Commission said: “The regulator had previously engaged with the charity over concerns about its expenditure in high-risk areas of the world.

"In October 2019, the Commission provided formal regulatory advice, including requiring that the charity introduce strong financial audit systems, to ensure the trustees could better monitor how the charity’s funds were being spent.

"After conducting a follow-up case to monitor compliance with these requirements, the Commission concluded that it was not satisfied the trustees had acted on previous advice and that serious regulatory concerns remained.

“The concerns include, but are not limited to, poor governance, poor monitoring of charitable funds and the use of a personal bank account to transfer money overseas.”

In response, the Olive Grove Foundation said it “strongly rejected” the reasons for opening the inquiry. 

The charity said it was “premature” and claimed it was opened “as a result of the invaluable and necessary work we have been carrying out in Palestine and Syria and our support for Al-Aqsa and the oppressed people of Jerusalem”.

A statement from Mohammad Bhaiyat, chairman of the charity, said those reliant on its aid will suffer “severe hardship” because of an order restricting the movement of funds overseas.

The statement added: “Despite having no viable evidence the Charity Commission has abused its powers and halted our international operations. The alleged evidence that the Commission have put forth as reasons for opening a Statutory Inquiry and placing restrictions on the movement of funds have no merit and inshaAllah we are confident that we will succeed in proving this and henceforth have initiated legal action. 

“From the inception of Olive Grove Foundation not a single penny has been mismanaged or misused and every donation has reached the intended beneficiary. 

“Despite two investigations over a two and a half year period, the Charity Commission have not been able to identify a single instance where charitable funds have been misused by Olive Grove Foundation.

“We intend to keep everyone informed as key issues develop and we ask for support during these difficult times. “

The statement added: “We request our donors not to make any donations until further notice as we cannot currently guarantee that we will be able to send the funds to the intended causes.”