The bosses of a charity raising money for homeless ex-soldiers have denied pocketing public donations after being arrested as part of a police investigation.
Three members of staff of Rhyl-based Soldiers Off The Street are being investigated for allegedly abusing their positions to obtain funds intended to pay for vulnerable former soldiers to be rehoused, clothed and fed.
The charity also gives advice on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, alcoholism, drug abuse, and getting work.
The three are the charity’s chairman Bill Murray, 66, who was previously the British National Party’s secretary for Wales.
Mr Murray, of Highbury Avenue, Prestatyn, was arrested with his partner and charity secretary Marie Ellis, 45.
The third person is understood to be former director Christopher Robinson, 54, from Abergele.
All three were released on bail in November and no charges have been made. Police investigations are continuing.
Accounts submitted to Companies House in Cardiff reveal that the charity had funds of £77,097 in 2015.
Soldiers Off The Street (SOTS) is based at the Glan Aber Trading Estate in Rhyl.
Today, Marie Ellis told the Daily Post they had been arrested in November of last year after “collectors” used by the charity were also arrested.
Ms Ellis said the “collectors” had been bailed for 28 days and then released without charge.
She said the three of them had not been given a reason for their arrests and had been left “upset”.
“We haven’t been told why, but we do know of other charities where the same thing is happening to them,” she said.
The investigation is being carried out by British Transport Police.
Ms Ellis said the allegations were “unfounded” but was unwilling to give a date for when they are expected to answer their bail in London.
She said the charity had helped around 500 former soldiers since it started in 2009, and that the Charity Commission had confirmed that SOTS was not the subject of a statutory inquiry but was being “monitored”.
Mr Murray and Mr Robinson declined to comment.
A statement on the charity’s Facebook page said: “The three involved are devastated that this information has been leaked as even their families do not know as they did not want to cause them stress and worry as the allegations are unfounded, they have not been charged.
“The three involved are obviously upset about the allegations and are helping the BTP with their enquires.
“To date they have not been shown any evidence by London BTP that justifies an arrest in the first place and feel this information has been leaked to lose the charity support and would only affect the homeless veterans we are trying to help.”
It is understood that the British Transport Police investigation “relates to allegations of charity trustees gaining fnancially, and is believed to have taken place between 2010 and 2016”.
see-http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/denbighshire-charity-bosses-deny-pocketing-11069544
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