The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into a Muslim charity over a “persistent” failure to submit accounts on time.

The regulator said its inquiry into the Plymouth Islamic Education Trust was opened on 20 March and will examine the extent to which its trustees are complying with their legal duties in respect of the administration, governance and management of the charity.

Piety works to advance the faith of Islam in Plymouth and the counties of Devon and Cornwall.

Engagement between the regulator and Piety began in 2014 when the charity had “repeatedly failed to comply with statutory reporting requirements”, the regulator said.

The charity has failed to submit its accounts on time between 2019 and 2023 according to its registry page.

“Prior to the opening of this inquiry, Piety had, on two separate occasions, been placed in the commission’s double defaulter inquiry for charities that have failed to file their annual documents for two or more years in the last five years,” the regulator said.

“Despite significant regulatory engagement on this matter by the commission, the trustees have consistently demonstrated that they are either unwilling or unable to comply with their legal duties.”

The regulator’s inquiry will examine trustees’ compliance with their legal obligations for the content, preparation and filing of the charity’s accounts and annual returns.

It will also look into the extent to which the trustees have complied with previously issued regulatory guidance, the regulator said.

The Charity Commission said it will investigate whether there has been any misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration of the charity.

A spokesperson for Piety said: “The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into our compliance with the charity’s legal duties of filing the charities accounts and reports in time.

“We admit that this happened before 2014, which was rectified until 2020. 

“We filed our accounts in time until Covid-19, which disorganised our staffing. This caused us to lag behind on two financial years, which have now been submitted and there aren’t any reports lagging behind.”

Piety’s trustees have welcomed the regulator’s inquiry and are fully willing to co-operate, the charity’s spokesperson said.

“This engagement is seen as an opportunity to improve on our performance to avoid this happening again,” they added.

“Everything is now in place and we are willing to work closely with the Charity Commission to improve on our policies and procedures.”