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Life Line Missions has objects for the advancement of the Christian religion and the relief of poverty.

The charity failed to meet its legal duty to file its accounts for the financial year ending 31 March 2011 and 31 March 2012 and became part of the commission’s double defaulter class inquiry in November 2013.

After failing to receive acceptable responses from the trustees the class inquiry then exercised its powers to obtain information from the charity’s bankers. This established that the charity’s bank accounts were closed in December 2013 and identified substantial discrepancies with income and expenditure disclosed by the charity in its accounts, annual returns and with the charity’s bank statements.

As a result of these further serious regulatory concerns, the commission opened a new wider investigation into the charity.

The issues the inquiry will examine include whether the trustees:

• complied with the charity’s governing document
• discharged their duties to safeguard the charity’s property
• maintained adequate accounting and financial controls and records
• ensured the charity’s expenditure is a proper application for the charity’s purposes

It is the commission’s policy, after it has concluded an inquiry, to publish a report detailing what issues the inquiry looked at, what actions were undertaken as part of the inquiry and what the outcomes were. Reports of previous inquiries are available on GOV.UK.

The charity’s details can be viewed on the commission’s online charity search tool.

Notes to editors

1. The Charity Commission is the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales. To find out more about our work, see our annual report.
2. Search for charities on our online register.
3. Section 46 of the Charities Act 2011 gives the commission the power to institute inquiries. The opening of an inquiry gives the commission access to a range of investigative, protective and remedial legal powers.
4. In November 2013 the commission notified the trustees that the charity had become part of the commission’s class inquiry into charities that are in default of submitting their annual returns and accounts for 2 or more years. This was because the charity had failed to submit the documents for financial years ending 31 March 2011 and 31 March 2012. The charity is now no longer part of the class inquiry due to this new investigation being opened.
5. The commission’s decision to announce the opening of a statutory inquiry is based on whether it is in the public interest to do so and with consideration of our objective to increase public trust and confidence in charities.