MALCOLM Offord is under investigation by the Scottish charity regulator over the trust to which he previously vowed to donate his MSP salary.
The National previously told how the Reform UK Scotland leader pledged to donate his salary to The Badenoch Trust – of which he is listed as both director and secretary.
Offord's register of interests on the UK Parliament website also states that he has shareholdings in the charity, which is listed as a "family charitable trust".
Yet while the Badenoch Trust is registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales, the charity does not appear on the OSCR, the Scottish charity register, despite operating from Scotland.
The OSCR previously said the incident would be assessed to determine whether any regulatory action would be taken.
And on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the regulator has confirmed that it has launched a formal inquiry – meaning Offord's charity is now under investigation.
A spokesperson told Third Force News: "Following an assessment of concerns raised about Badenoch Trust, we have opened an inquiry to gather further information and determine whether regulatory action is required.
"In line with our published policies, we are unable to comment further at this time.”
The trust was first reported to the OSCR by independent journalist David Hollas, who pointed towards the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, which states that a charity managed mainly in Scotland must register with the regulator – including organisations that have been established or are registered in England.
He submitted the charity's 2024 accounts as evidence, which shows that the organisation is administered from 10 Charlotte Square in Edinburgh.
While the trust is registered to an Edinburgh address on the Charity Commission website, it is listed as being based in London on the Companies House register.
A Scottish Greens spokesperson said: “A formal investigation is a serious escalation, and Malcolm Offord should now do the obvious thing by pausing any plan to give his MSP salary into a trust that he controls until these questions are resolved.
“Charities operating in Scotland are expected to follow Scotland’s charity rules. OSCR’s own guidance is clear that organisations which represent themselves as charities in Scotland may be required to register here, including charities already registered in England and Wales.
“Nobody is saying that a super-rich individual giving his MSP salary to charity is a bad thing. The issue is that of all the charities in Scotland he could have chosen, Lord Offord chose his own trust. The same charity that is now subject to a formal inquiry by the Scottish charity regulator."
The spokesperson added: “If Lord Offord wants people to believe this is about supporting young people and good causes in Scotland, then he needs to be completely transparent.
"He should publish clear details of who controls the trust, where it is administered from, how grant decisions are made, and whether it will register with OSCR, and he should also rule out any possibility that he writes off charitable donations against tax.
“The simplest way to remove these concerns however, would be to donate the money directly to an independent Scottish charity instead."
SNP MSP Stuart McMillan said: “Malcolm Offord was quick to boast that he would be donating his MSP salary to charity – only for it to turn out that the charity in question is one he has significant interests in.
“Now we discover that the charity is facing an investigation by the charity regulator – it's time Malcolm Offord provided full transparency with the public."
Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: “This investigation is bound to raise some eyebrows.
“Malcolm Offord must be totally transparent with the OSCR and the public about what has happened here.”
A Reform UK spokesperson previously said: “The charity was set up in 2007 in London where Malcolm Offord Offord [sic] at the time. It currently remains registered in London.”
Reform UK have been contacted for comment.
