The Charity Commission says it is “actively considering” concerns raised about the conduct of climate-sceptic lobbying group the Global Warming Policy Foundation.
A cross-party group of MPs wrote to the regulator last month alleging that the GWPF had breached lobbying and financial rules.
Third Sector understands that the charity has also filed a serious incident report with the commission.
Charities are required to alert the regulator if they are the subject of media coverage that could harm their reputation.
The commission has not taken any formal regulatory action against the GWPF. The charity said the claims were unfounded and it was happy to co-operate with the regulator.
The MPs – Labour’s Clive Lewis, Layla Moran from the Liberal Democrats and Caroline Lucas from the Green Party – worked with the Good Law Project to raise the complaint.
In a statement released when it first contacted the commission, the Good Law Project said it had identified “several hundred thousand pounds’ worth of spending on one-sided research and a financial relationship between GWPF and its non-charitable subsidiary Net Zero Watch which appears to breach key protections of charity law”.
A Charity Commission spokesperson said: “We can confirm we have received and responded to a cross-party letter regarding GWPF.
“A charity’s activities and expenditure should always deliver its purpose and be consistent with its governing document and policies, as well as with charity law.
“We take all concerns raised with us seriously and are actively considering the information provided to inform any next steps.”
The Good Law Project said it would follow progress “very carefully to prevent public subsidies as a result of having charity status from being misused”.