Charity Commission opens inquiry into the Mahfouz Foundation

The Mahfouz Foundation has charitable aims which include the promotion of the history and culture of the Middle East.

The Commission has been engaging with its trustees since September after media reports alleged that donations, intended for the Prince’s Foundation, went instead to the Mahfouz Foundation. Some of these funds were then subsequently transferred elsewhere.

The regulator has also identified concerns around the trustees’ governance and financial control of the charity. The Commission escalated its case to a statutory inquiry on 2nd November.

This inquiry will examine:

• whether certain donations received by the Mahfouz Foundation were intended for the charity, have been used in accordance with the donors’ intentions and if they should be returned to the donor or otherwise applied for charitable purposes

• whether the trustees have carried out their legal duties and responsibilities as trustees in line with charity law

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

It is the Commission’s policy, after it has concluded an inquiry, to publish a report detailing what issues the inquiry looked at, what actions were undertaken as part of the inquiry and what the outcomes were. Reports of previous inquiries are available on GOV.UK.

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Notes to Editors

1. The Prince’s Foundation is not regulated by the Commission and is registered with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator.

2. The Charity Commission is the independent, non-ministerial government department that registers and regulates charities in England and Wales.