London, Sep 20 (PTI) A Birmingham-based brother and sister duo associated with the Sikh Youth UK (SYUK) group have been found guilty of fraud offences relating to charitable donations.
Rajbinder Kaur, 55, was convicted earlier this week for money laundering and six counts of theft amounting to GBP 50,000 and one count under Section 60 of the UK’s Charities Act 2011, which covers knowingly or recklessly providing false or misleading information to the Charity Commission. Her brother Kaldip Singh Lehal, 43, was also convicted for the same charge under the Charities Act.
“Kaur tried to portray herself as someone naïve about financial matters despite having worked in a bank,” said Superintendent Annie Miller, from West Midlands Police, following the verdict at Birmingham Crown Court on Monday.
“SYUK was clearly a means to fund her lifestyle and pay her debts off, but in the simplest of terms Kaur was stealing large amounts of money that had been donated by local people for good causes,” she said.
The brother and sister were initially arrested by the force in July 2019 and subsequently charged in September that year. The trial at Birmingham Crown Court heard how Kaur and Lehal ran SYUK, with an application made in 2016 to the sector’s independent regulator Charity Commission for it to become a registered charity. But when the commission asked for further information about SYUK, the information was not given so the charity application was closed.
The court heard that SYUK received countless donations during fundraising events including a sponsored winter sleep-out and a football tournament, both in 2018. Kaur, a former bank worker, would transfer funds from the SYUK bank to her own account and then pay off her personal debts and loans as well as sending money to others, including family members. Kaur had over 50 personal bank accounts in an attempt to make it as complicated as possible to follow the flow of stolen money, West Midlands Police said.
“This has been a very long and complex investigation into fraud, and we have worked closely with the Charity Commission to bring this pair to justice,” added Superintendent Miller.
Both Kaur and Lehal are to be sentenced at the same court on November 21.
The case dates back to October 2018, when West Midlands Police notified the Charity Commission of concerns relating to SYUK’s receipt and use of charitable funds. While Sikh Youth UK is not a registered charity, the Commission claims jurisdiction due to the funds being charitable.
The watchdog said it exercised its powers under Section 52 of the Charities Act 2011 to obtain copies of bank statements. The commission’s analysis of the information identified a number of regulatory concerns which warranted further investigation. The Commission therefore opened a statutory inquiry on November 15, 2018, and publicly announced its investigation only in July 2019 to avoid prejudicing any criminal proceedings.