The SKT Welfare charity has denied allegations of wrongdoing and malpractice levelled against it by its patron, the Syrian Islamic scholar Sheikh Muhammad al Yaqoobi.
In a statement on Thursday Sheikh Yaqoobi said that the Dewsbury-based charity, which says it provides relief to victims of natural and man made disasters worldwide, displayed a lack of transparency and accountability, inept governance and suffered from mismanagement. He also called into question its 100 per cent donation policy.
Sheikh Yaqoobi said he had tried to put a plan in place to rectify the problems at the charity but his advice had been rejected.
Subsequently he announced that he:
– is no longer a patron of the charity.
– does not support the charity.
– recommends that no one donate to it.
“The behaviour demonstrated by the three trustees of SKT Welfare (Asif Hussain, Majid Nazir Butt, Zubair Sharif) is not only disappointing but also shocking. We have an obligation to the public, for the trust they have placed with us, to inform them of these concerns,” he said.
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However, the next day SKT Welfare issued a statement denying the allegations.
The statement read: “All our charity has been continuously regulated from the very onset with complete compliance with UK law and Charity Commission guidelines.
“There has always been compliance and adherence to the legal and obligatory framework within the regulatory authorities. This is compulsory and requires a very high degree of transparency from both a financial perspective and a procedural aspect from start to finish.
“Hence, it is of course extremely disappointing that such an opinion was formulated and propagated.
“However we pray, hope and believe that when the truth and facts become apparent it will completely resolve this rather unnecessary situation.”
According to accounts at the Charity Commission for the 2016 financial year, SKT Welfare had an income of £4.4 million.
