A statutory inquiry is the Charity Commission’s most serious formal power, used under section 46 of the Charities Act where there are concerns about misconduct, mismanagement or risk to charitable funds. During one the Commission can freeze bank accounts, appoint an interim manager, or remove and replace trustees.
Inquiries are public. Because an active investigation is a more important fact about a charity than any ratio, an open inquiry sets its Clarity Score to 0 out of 100 automatically and displays a regulatory warning banner on the profile — no pillar arithmetic is applied.
An inquiry is not a criminal conviction, and some conclude with no wrongdoing found. It does mean the regulator considers the risk serious enough to investigate formally.