Former committee members of the Metropolitan Police Sikh Association has been told to hand over money raised for charity in 2005/2006 - yet has been cleared of 'misappropriating 'charity funds.

An Independent Police Complaints Commission investigation concluded that there is no criminal or misconduct case to consider - yet was scathing in its criticism of the Sikh group’s accounts and governance.

Allegations

Launched in October 2007, the probe focused on several accusations, mainly that money raised for causes was not handed over to the relevent charities. There were also allegations of "unspecified favors." £6,000 was paid to a caterer for social events, yet there was no invoice. A trip to New York and the alleged misuse of mobile phones was documented and the IPCC found no case to answer, but called their systems "weak."

No evidence

While the inquiry found no evidence that funds collected for charity were misappropriated, it found that no payments were made in the whole of 2006. The IPCC put this down as "indicative of a lack of professional capability."

IPCC Commissioner Nicola Williams said:

"While no criminal or misconduct charges will be brought in this case, the inquiry found that: financial reporting and accounting were weak; ticket sales for social events inconsistently recorded and lack of information kept about sales or monies banked; and funds raised for charity were not passed to the organisations concerned."

Inter-association conflict

Williams called on attempts "to resolve the differences between the groups within the MPSA."

There were no ledgers showing the income and expenditure of the association. The accountants identified that a single accounting process should be used consistently in the preparation of financial accounts.

It is unclear what financial training, if any, may have been provided to those with responsibility for financial matters. Given these circumstances the investigation concluded that there has been a failure to record the financial transactions of the association. However, the evidence did not substantiate criminal or misconduct charges.