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The RSPCA faces a thorough review of its governance after discovering that the police were investigating an alleged fraud involving hundreds of thousands of pounds sterling at its southeastern London branch.
Two men were arrested in connection with the charges and a medico-legal audit of the branch took place. Ivan House, who had resigned from his position as a director last October due to concerns about how the situation was handled, told the Guardian that the scale of the alleged fraud would be between £ 330,000 and £ 450,000.
The RSPCA has been the subject of controversy in recent years. Peter Ralphs, the former chairman of Shropshire's charity branch, was sentenced to three years in prison in January after admitting to abusing his position to steal £ 184,000 from the charity.
In July of last year, the agencies of Tunbridge Wells and Maidstone were criticized by the Charity Commission for "recordkeeping deficiencies" in connection with the purchase of a property. cattery, that the daughter of the national president of the time – and the president of the local agency – Daphne Harris was nominated to the running and also lived there. She said that there had been "failures in the governance of the charity."
The following month, the commission officially warned the RSPCA to pay a heavy price to its former chief executive, claiming that the directors had failed to ensure that the decision was taken properly and that their failures were mismanagement. On this occasion, he stated that he has been involved in the governance of the RSPCA in a worrying manner in recent years, given the size and importance of this organization.
A spokesperson for the commission, responding to the latest allegations of fraud, said: "A serious incident was reported to the commission as per our indications and we opened a regulatory compliance file to badess the agency's response. this serious incident.
"We expect agents to submit the findings of their internal investigation once completed, which we will review, as well as any necessary policies and procedures, including with respect to financial controls, to ensure that the charity has acted appropriately.
The alleged fraud was discovered for the first time during an audit of the South East London branch last June, which revealed that nearly £ 16,000 had been spent on bills at Premier Inn hotels. House stated that subsequent inquiries had raised new questions and that the problems in the industry had left him concerned about the oversight of the national charity.
The two men arrested were the two administrators of the branch. The seven directors who were in place were either removed or left and three new directors, all members of the RSPCA National Council, were appointed.
The website of the Charity Commission indicated that the accounts of the branch for the year ended 31 December 2017 were 160 days late. Revenues for the previous four years ranged from £ 193,000 to £ 227,000. Annual expenses ranged from £ 178,000 to £ 227,000.
The national FSPCA charity, with a federated structure, earned revenue of £ 141m in 2017 and spent £ 129m.
A spokesperson for the RSPCA said, "After concerns were raised about the management of the London South East branch, a charity registered separately from the national RSPCA, a financial badysis was initiated. The matter has been referred to the police and we are not able to comment further but we would like to rebadure our supporters that the section continues to function as usual. "
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: "The police received an allegation of fraud on 3 September 2018 about a charity based in Norwood, South East London.
"On 12 September, two men aged 44 and 55 were arrested for fraud. Both were released under investigation. Officers from the South Zone Command Unit continue their investigations.
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