The CEO of Muslim Aid, Jehangir Malik, has left the organisation months after an internal investigation was launched into allegations of mismanagement and malpractice at the charity.
5Pillars understands that the investigation has been completed and delivered to management only, but we have so far been unable to establish if Malik’s departure is directly linked to the report.
In a statement on its website today, Muslim Aid said that Malik would stand down as Chief Executive Officer after almost four years.
He has now joined the Birmingham-based charity The Feast, which is a Christian charity working to promote community cohesion between young people of different faiths and cultures.
Mr Malik said: “I am extremely honoured to have played a key role for the organisation during hugely challenging times. I have witnessed the dedication, commitment and immense sacrifice of staff as they have worked tirelessly in implementing the charity’s mission and purpose.
“After almost four years of leading an inspirational team of people, I feel now is a good time to pass on the baton. I remain committed to helping to strengthen civil society in challenging times in light of Covid-19 and beyond.”
The charity said that during his time at Muslim Aid Mr Malik implemented a new system of corporate governance and increased organisational capacity to deliver aid. He also oversaw the deployment of frontline support in countries including Somalia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Kenya, Pakistan, Sudan and Yemen. And the charity played a prominent role in the relief effort following the Grenfell Tower tragedy in London in 2017 and continues to do so.
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Iftikhar Awan, Chair of the Board of Trustees of Muslim Aid, added: “We thank Jehangir for his contribution to Muslim Aid and we wish him well for the future. He joined the organisation at a critical time and has worked tirelessly to make a difference.”
Kashif Shabir, currently Transformation and Strategy Director at Muslim Aid, will step in as Acting CEO whilst the Board assesses the charity’s needs and structures going forward.
Internal investigation
At the beginning of this year Muslim Aid commissioned an independent investigation into allegations of mismanagement and malpractice at the charity after a letter of no-confidence in Malik, backed by dozens of staff, was sent to the Charity Commission.
The letter demanded that Malik and the Board of Trustees immediately step down for the good of the organisation. It claimed that Mr Malik had overseen:
- The “financial killing” of the organisation which has a growing financial deficit of over £5m.
- Nepotism with a culture of unfairness and favouritism breeding a toxic office environment.
- A lack of independence from trustees.
- Financial wastage through “hare-brained” ideas.
- A high staff turnover, including recent departures of the Chief Operating Officer and Financial Director.
- The failure to implement a Zakat policy.
The letter also accused the Board of whitewashing an internal investigation into the CEO.
5Pillars approached Mr Malik for a comment on the allegations at the time but he declined to do so. When 5Pillars approached Muslim Aid’s Board of Trustees they told us that it would be inappropriate to comment on specific allegations while an investigation was ongoing.
Prior to his appointment at Muslim Aid, Jehangir Malik served as the National Fundraising Director for several years at Islamic Relief before his promotion to UK Director for six years. He also had various other roles at the organisation including development director of Islamic Relief USA and deputy country director in Afghanistan.
Mr Malik was a founding trustee of the Muslim Charities Forum (MCF) and in 2010 was awarded an OBE in recognition of his 20 years of contribution to the humanitarian cause.
Muslim Aid has suffered a troubled last few years. Last year the Charity Commission found serious mismanagement on the part of the former Board of Trustees. It opened a statutory inquiry into the charity in 2013 (before Jehangir Malik’s appointment or that of the current Board of Trustees) over concerns of significant financial loss, serious governance failures, poor financial controls and loss or misuse of charitable funds for improper purpose.
In October 2016 it appointed an Interim Manager who worked alongside Malik to complete a full governance and infrastructure review of the charity and a new senior leadership team was recruited. In addition, a new Borad of Trustees was appointed in January 2018.
