ABSTRACT
Charity fraud is usually a product of opportunity and that opportunity is usually a product of pre-existing poor governance, control and risk management within a charity. Those that run charities almost invariably have other interests outside the charity and outside the charity sector, so sometimes the charity is the easiest target for a fraud. Investigating charities, or donations to or through charities, requires knowledge of the types of fraud that the charity sector can attract or facilitate and knowledge of the legal framework in which charities operate. The Charity Commission (CC) is constituted by, and operates primarily under, the Charities Act of 2011 which also sets out its objectives. Among its basic functions are to maintain a public register of charities, to enforce the compliance of charities with their legal obligations, to promote the effective use of charitable resources, to enable charities to maximize their impact and generally to improve the work of charities and the charity sector.
