Charity Commission Statutory Inquiry Report into Rigpa Fellowship

The Charity Commission for England and Wales' own statutory inquiry into Rigpa Fellowship (registered charity number 279315), opened 8 November 2018 and closed with the publication of this report on 20 November 2020, amended 30 December 2020. The Commission found that some students had been subjected to mental, physical and sexual abuse by Sogyal Lakar, and that senior charity figures, including named former trustees, were aware of at least some of these issues and failed to address them, exposing the charity's beneficiaries to risk of harm. The report concluded there had been mismanagement and misconduct in the charity's administration, particularly in how former trustees responded to and managed safeguarding concerns. Two former trustees were formally sanctioned: Susan Burrows was removed from all trustee positions and permanently disqualified under charity law on 20 September 2019, and Patrick Gaffney was disqualified from serving as a trustee for eight years, added to the disqualified list on 12 April 2019.