A man and a woman are under police investigation for suspected fraud, alongside the regulatory investigation into Barnabas Aid (formerly Barnabas Fund), a charity supporting persecuted Christians – which has been widened to include four linked charities.
Wiltshire Police has confirmed it arrested two people on 7 November 2024 ‘in connection with an ongoing fraud investigation’.
A police statement to en said: ‘A man in his 70s and a woman in her 60s were arrested on suspicion of fraud by false representation and money laundering. They have been released on bail pending further enquiries. This is part of an active investigation into allegations of fraud linked to a Wiltshire-based charity.’
The Charity Commission announced a statutory inquiry into Barnabas Aid last Autumn after identifying significant compliance issues. In January it announced that statutory inquiries have also been launched into the Oxford Centre for Religion in Public Life, a UK research institution (OCRPL), Reconciliation Trust, a grant making body whose bank accounts have been frozen, TBF Trust who give money to persecuted Christians overseas and missionary charity, Servants Fellowship International (SFI).
All four charities are part of the Barnabas network of charities. The regulator has expanded its investigations to the other charities because of their ‘shared premises, trustees and/or founders, and the flow of funds with Barnabas Fund’.
OCRPL, TBF Trust and SFI have also been temporarily restricted from entering into any transactions above £2,500 without regulatory approval. Barnabas Aid is currently restricted from transactions exceeding £4,000.
The Commission will seek to determine if they hold a relationship with US-based subsidiary Nexcus; whether they have a structure similar to Barnabas Fund; and whether it is in the charities’ best interests. Nexcus was established in 2020 by Dr Sookhedo. Its board, according to Barnabas Aid, comprises the four national chairs of Barnabas (UK, US, New Zealand and Australia).
The Commission’s investigations will look at the trustees’ legal compliance, whether there has been any misconduct or mismanagement by the trustees and any risk to charity property.
In a statement the trustees at to en, OCRPL said: ‘The Centre welcomes the current statutory inquiry by the Charity Commission and hopes to continue its research and educational mission without interference from external parties.’
When the first statutory inquiry was announced, Caroline Kerslake, a founder and trustee of Barnabas Fund, and trustee of OCRPL, TBF Trust and Reconciliation Trust, told the charity sector news website, Civil Society: ‘I have complete confidence in the Charity Commission and am hoping that, after its investigation, the whole board will be able to move forward.’
