Chabad’s ‘persistent failure’ to meet legal duties probed by charity regulator

The Charity Commission has launched an investigation into Chabad Lubavitch UK after its “persistent failure” to meet legal obligations.

The Orthodox outreach group is still to submit accounts from 2015, and the independent regulator said it was now taking action because of similar failures over the past five years.

Chabad Lubavitch UK seeks to advance and promote the Jewish religion and Jewish education, and last reported an income of £8.7 million.

However, in a terse statement, the Commission said: “The trustee has demonstrated a repeated pattern of behaviour and continuing evidence of mismanagement in the administration of the charity.”

The regulator last week issued an order under section 84 of the Charities Act 2011 directing the charity to submit the outstanding accounting information, as well as “to undertake a review, and implement changes to ensure that the charity fully complies with its legal obligations in the future”.