The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into concerns that a banned trustee is still working for his charity.
Alan Blacker, a founding trustee of the Joint Armed Forces Legal Advocacy Service, was disqualified from sitting on any charity board in 2020 after being convicted of dishonestly claiming benefits.
Blacker applied for a waiver from automatic disqualification but the commission refused his request in September. The charity tribunal upheld the regulator’s decision in May.
But the regulator said that, as of last month, Blacker “was still listed as a director of the charity and as being a person of significant control on Companies House records”.
The statutory inquiry will examine the administration, governance and management of JAFLAS and focus on whether Blacker has continued to play a role at the charity after his disqualification.
The commission said in a statement that “acting while disqualified has both criminal and civil consequences”.
Earlier this year, the Law Gazette reported that Blacker had also been banned by the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives for failing to disclose the fact he had been disqualified as a charity trustee or that he had previously been struck off the roll of solicitors and made bankrupt.
JAFLAS did not respond to a request for comment by email and the telephone number listed for the charity on the Charity Commission website did not work.