TRUSTEES implicated in a investigation into financial mismanagement at a major Harrow charity have been asked to pass the findings to police, it has been revealed.

PriceWaterhouseCoopers conducted an investigation into the management of Harrow Association of Voluntary Services (HAVS), and delivered a damning report last week uncovering financial irregularities and weak governance.

The Harrow Times exclusively revealed details of the investigation back in June, and last week published details of the report which prompted calls for fraud detectives to be called in.

Harrow Council initially said police had not been involved, but it has now emerged trustees at the charity were advised to hand the report to police after a meeting with council officers on September 10.

The investigation concluded that bonuses had been paid to chief executive Julia Smith and several other staff members without the knowledge of most of the trustees.

It also pointed out failings in the management of the charity, which acts as an umbrella body for the third sector in Harrow, and recommended a radical overhaul of the way it is run as well as a thorough investigation of the funding streams in and out of HAVS.

Ms Smith resigned from the charity shortly after the allegations were raised in June, and three trustees including former chairman Asoke Dutta stood down at the charity's annual general meeting this month.

However, some trustees have remained in place, including former Lib Dem Parliamentary candidate Nahid Boethe and Labour deputy mayor Mrinal Choudhury, who has been the organisation's treasurer for at least the last two years.

The Harrow Times reported last week how Cllr Choudhury had not declared to the council his role at HAVS, but it has now emerged that he declared the interest on June 25 this year, more than a fortnight after we revealed he was in breach of the council's standards rules.

Cllr Choudhury told investigators in his role he “looks at all the invoices and other payments and normally see all the paperwork before signing it” but later insisted when asked about thousands in bonuses handed: “If the auditor is happy then I am happy. As treasurer, I don't do the book-keeping.”

Cllr Choudhury said “no comment” when first contacted by this paper about the scandal, and has yet to discuss his role at the charity and its future with him sitting on a new-look board of trustees.