The Barrowman Foundation, a platinum donor to the Prince’s Trust, has not recorded any donations in its published accounts since it was set up and is funded by loans from its founder, businessman Doug Barrowman. Barrowman heads a financial group that includes companies that promoted tax avoidance schemes to off-the-payroll workers, which are now being pursued by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Campaigners have previously criticized the decision to name one of the prince’s trust centers after the businessman. The Barrowman charity’s unusual funding arrangements are now being investigated by the Charity Commission. The Barrowman Foundation said it had complied with all accounting rules and Charity Commission guidelines. A Charity Commission spokesman said: “We have now opened a regulatory compliance case at the Barrowman Foundation and will be working with the trustees to assess the concerns.” Officials said opening a compliance case does not constitute a finding of wrongdoing. One of the charity’s trustees is Tory peer Michelle Mone, who was appointed start-up czar by David Cameron in 2015 and married Barrowman in November 2020. The other trustee is Arthur Lancaster, Prince Andrew’s business partner. The Barrowman Foundation is one of the leading patrons of the Prince’s Trust. The Prince’s Trust Doug Barrowman Center opened in Manchester in September 2019 to help young people access education, find training opportunities and secure jobs. Barrowman heads the Knox group of companies in the Isle of Man, which includes AML Tax (UK). It was accused by HMRC earlier this year of promoting “aggressive” tax avoidance schemes and was fined £150,000 by a tax court in March for failing to hand over records needed to calculate its tax bills. Officials estimate he owes £3m in tax. A Barrowman spokesman previously said that all programs promoted by the Knox companies complied with all relevant tax laws and that there was no wrongdoing. Doug Barrowman with his wife, Michelle Mone. Photo: Stills Press/Alamy Prince Charles’ charities are facing scrutiny from their donors after the Sunday Times revealed cash donations totaling around £2.5 million had been made to the Prince of Wales’ Charities. The Charity Commission said last month it had no concerns about the charity’s governance and did not launch an investigation. Barrowman’s charity was established in February 2017 and has been funded by loans totaling approximately £1.46m. The Knox Group of Companies, which manages approximately £3 billion in assets, is headquartered at Knox House in Douglas on the Isle of Man. The group included businesses under the AML brand that promoted tax avoidance schemes to employees between 2009 and 2015, under which employees were paid with loans that were never intended to be repaid. The government clamped down on these arrangements – known as hidden remuneration schemes – in Budget 2016, introducing a retroactive “loan charge” that taxes the payments as income. There has been criticism of the Prince’s Trust’s decision to make Barrowman’s foundation a platinum donor. Carol Monaghan, SNP MP and member of the all-party caucus on loans and taxpayer fairness, said it was “not right” that Barrowman was a platinum patron of the Prince’s Trust. He added: “The biggest injustice in the whole loan charge scandal is that people who took and followed professional advice are being hit with life-ruining bills, while those who made huge sums of money promoting these schemes have not been asked to pay a penny . the disputed tax”. The Barrowman Foundation said the Charity Commission had not contacted the trustees about any case. A spokesman said: “The charity has complied with all relevant accounting rules and Charity Commission guidance on loans. The loans were cleared in 2021 and this will be reflected in the accounts to be filed soon. No tax advantage arose or was obtained from the loans or other contributions to the charity.” A spokesman for The Prince’s Trust said: “We have not received any money from Mr Barrowman since February 2019 and have no plans to accept any further donations.”
