More Strictly Orthodox charities named in £22m cheque cashing inquiry

Ten more Strictly Orthodox charities have been named as part of a statutory class inquiry announced by the Charity Commission, into evidence that cheques have been cashed with a value of £22 million over a 15-month-long time frame.

In May 2024, following an unannounced visit by HMRC to a company in Hackney, 105 charities were found to have cashed  cheques with it to between December 2021 and March 2023.

At the time, 10 charities were named as part of the inquiry, but the commission has confirmed it has now extended its inquiry to include further Charedi concerns.

The new list includes the Ezer Viznitz Foundation, set up to provide education of young people and poverty prevention, Satmar Nursery Trust, again listed as providing education for youngsters, Lehachyos, who offer grant to institutions advancing education, Dover Sholem Trust, listed as advancing Orthodox religious education, and Friends of Yeshiva Daas Sholem, again set up to advance Orthodox studies.

The Vyoel Moshe Charitable Trust, the ZSV Trust, United Talmudical Associates LTD, Forty Limited, and Bnois Jerusalem Schools complete the list of 10 new names.

The Commission  has confirmed it has issued an immediate order to temporarily stop any of the charities under inquiry from issuing cheques without its prior consent.

Its inquiry will aim to determine how the charities have transferred funds, how trustees had oversight of what happened to funds exchanged for the cheques and if this cash has been used properly to support what the charities were set up to do.

The Commission will also seek to establish how trustees determined that these financial transactions were in their charity’s best interests.

Last year the Commission said it had  prioritised charities based on the volume and value of cheques involved.

It also confirmed the number of charities under investigation was expected to increase as the inquiry progresses