Brother and sister convicted for their roles in pocketing charity funds

Rajbinder Kaur, aged 55, and her brother, Kaldip Singh Lehal, aged 43, ran Sikh Youth UK (SYUK), which was set up in 2016, a trial at Birmingham Crown Court heard.

An application was made in the year SYUK was formed to the Charity Commission for it to become a registered charity.

However, when the commission asked for more information about the organisation, it was not provided so the application was closed.

SYUK received countless donations during fundraising events, including a sponsored winter sleep out and a football tournament, both of which took place in 2018.

Kaur – a former bank worker – would transfer funds from the SYUK bank to her own account and then pay off her personal debts and loans, as well as sending money to others including family members.

She had over 50 personal bank accounts in an attempt to make it as complicated as possible to follow the flow of stolen money.

Kaur and Lehal, both formerly of Hamstead Road in Birmingham, were initially arrested in July 2019 and charged in September 2019.

On Monday, Kaur was convicted for money laundering and six counts of theft amounting to £50,000 and one count under Section 60 of the Charities Act 2011 – knowingly or recklessly provide false or misleading information to the Charity Commission.

Lehal was also convicted for knowingly or recklessly providing false or misleading information to the Charity Commission. The pair will be sentenced on November 21.

West Midlands Police Supt Annie Miller, said: “Kaur tried to portray herself as someone naïve about financial matters despite having worked in a bank.

“SYUK was clearly a means to fund her lifestyle and pay her debts off, but in the simplest of terms Kaur was stealing large amounts of money that had been donated by local people for good causes.

"This has been a very long and complex investigation into fraud, and we have worked closely with the Charity Commission to bring this pair to justice.”