Jewish charities supporting Torah studies investigated over use of signed blank cheques

The charities, it added, “also operate heavily in cash, which the Commission advises against, overseas and do not maintain adequate records to supplement this.”

Trustees “could not provide sufficient evidence that they were monitoring or verifying the end use of the charities’ funds overseas”.

The inquiry will cover governance, financial control and the conduct of the trustees but its scope could be extended if additional regulatory issues emerge, the Commission said.

It has made an order to restrict the trustees from carrying out several transactions, including cash withdrawal of charitable funds and pre-signing cheques. 

Speaking from Israel, one of the trustees said that he had been responding to questions from the commission for two and a half years. "I don't know why they aren't happy," he said. "There's been no wrongdoing whatsoever." 

He added that he was "sure they are going to find nothing in the end” and added: "We have been doing a good job for 40 years supporting poor students to continue to study the complete Talmud in depth".