Barnabas Aid inquiry: why interim managers took over ([gov.uk](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/charity-regulator-appoints-interim-managers-to-international-aid-charity-amidst-ongoing-investigation))

Barnabas Aid, formally Barnabas Fund, is now being run by two interim managers appointed by the Charity Commission: Edwina Turner and Catherin Gibbon of Anthony Collins LLP. The regulator announced the move on 19 June 2026, after making the order on 18 June, and said the appointment puts the managers in control instead of the charity's trustees for now. (gov.uk) That matters because this is not a routine staffing change. Barnabas Aid has been under a statutory inquiry since September 2024 after the Commission raised serious governance and financial concerns, including allegations of unauthorised payments to some current and former trustees and related parties. (gov.uk)

If you are new to charity law, the first thing to know is that trustees are normally the people legally responsible for a charity's money, decisions and direction. When interim managers are appointed 'to the exclusion of the trustees', it means the trustees step aside and the interim managers temporarily take over the charity's property and affairs. The Charity Commission's own guidance says an interim manager has the same duties and responsibilities as a trustee in relation to management and administration. (gov.uk) Just as important, this step is protective, not final. The Commission says opening a statutory inquiry is not, by itself, a finding of wrongdoing, and its guidance describes an interim manager appointment as an interim action designed to protect the charity while serious questions are checked. (gov.uk)

A statutory inquiry is the Charity Commission's formal investigation tool under section 46 of the Charities Act 2011. According to the Commission's guidance, it can only use some of its stronger protective powers, including the appointment of an interim manager, after an inquiry has been opened and where it believes there may have been misconduct or mismanagement, or where charity property needs protecting. (gov.uk) In Barnabas Aid's case, the earlier October 2024 announcement said the inquiry would examine more than one issue at once. Alongside the allegations about payments, the Commission said it would look at possible unmanaged conflicts of interest, claims that the charity's founders had inappropriate influence, whether spending was properly recorded, and whether the charity's relationship with the US-based subsidiary Nexcus was in the charity's best interests. (gov.uk)

So why appoint interim managers now? The Charity Commission's published policy says it uses this power after weighing other options and deciding the step is proportionate. It says such appointments are usually considered where there is serious risk to a charity's assets, income, services, beneficiaries, reputation, or to wider public trust in charities. (gov.uk) There was already a sign, back in October 2024, that the regulator believed protective action was needed. At that stage the Commission temporarily restricted Barnabas Aid from making transactions over £4,000, saying it had concerns that funds may have been misused in the past and questions about the trustees' oversight. (gov.uk)

The new managers have been given a very wide brief. According to the 19 June 2026 press release, they will take full control of the charity's administration, assets, records, banking and governance; investigate historic decision-making and related-party arrangements; protect and recover charity assets where necessary; and regularise governance before reporting back to the Charity Commission. (gov.uk) In plain English, that means this is about both fact-finding and stabilising the organisation. 'Related-party arrangements' usually refers to payments, contracts or other dealings involving people or bodies connected to a charity's decision-makers, which is why conflict-of-interest rules matter so much in charity governance. That plain-language reading is our explanation, drawn from the Commission's stated focus on related parties, trustee benefits and conflicts of interest in this case. (gov.uk)

**What this means:** if you donate to a charity, this kind of intervention is meant to protect charitable money and the people a charity is supposed to serve. It does not automatically mean a charity will close, but it does mean the regulator thinks independent outside control is needed while the investigation carries on. (gov.uk) There is a practical point here too. The Commission's guidance says the charity usually pays the interim managers' fees, though there are limited cases where the regulator may indemnify an appointment. The same guidance also says trustees and others affected by the order can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Charity) within set timeframes. (gov.uk)

For readers trying to make sense of the bigger picture, Barnabas Aid is also a reminder that charity regulation in England and Wales is built on trust, but not on blind trust. The Charity Commission describes itself as the independent regulator for charities in England and Wales, and cases like this show what that looks like when concerns move from routine compliance work into a full investigation. (gov.uk) The inquiry is still ongoing, so there are no final findings yet. The Commission has said that, once an inquiry is finished, its usual practice is to publish a report explaining what it examined, what action it took and what the outcome was. If you are following this story, that final report will matter far more than rumour, because it is where the regulator sets out its evidence-based conclusions. (gov.uk)