Fraud squad investigates Riba over ‘missing £1.1m’

The fraud squad has begun an investigation into the Royal Institute of British Architects after it was accused of mislaying £1.1 million of members’ funds.

City of London police said that the matter was being assessed by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau after a complaint from Elsie Owusu, who is campaigning to become the first black president of Riba.

“I’ve decided to speak out now because if I win the election I’ll be forced to sign some rolled-up-trouser secrecy deal, and if I lose it’ll just be called sour grapes,” Ms Owusu, 65, said.

“I have been reluctant to take this step, hoping the Riba would commit to proper action, but it is obviously quite the reverse. It seems that possible wrongdoing may be being covered up.”

The complaint relates to a property deal conducted by the organisation in 2013. Under the deal, £21 million was borrowed from Lloyds to lease and refurbish 76 Portland Place, next door to Riba’s listed headquarters in central London, in order to accommodate staff and allow 66 Portland Place, its historical home, to be used for exhibitions and events. The loan was repaid after Riba sold a £31.8 million stake in its commercial arm to a subsidiary of Lloyds last month.

Last year, however, Alan Vallance, Riba’s chief executive, admitted in an email that £1.1 million of the refurbishment costs could not be properly accounted for. “I cannot guarantee that the £1.1 million could be fully itemised,” he wrote. “Part of the problem has been the way in which financial expenditure has been captured during the project . . . record-keeping has been poor.”

The involvement of the police is the latest iteration in a long-running feud between Ms Owusu and bureaucrats at the institute she aspires to lead.

Ms Owusu, who hopes to be named as the next president of Riba on August 8, was sent a “cease and desist” letter this month to prevent her making “damaging public statements” after she questioned the salary paid to Mr Vallance — at least £180,000 a year — and claimed that it amounted to six times the average annual wage earned by an architect.

Kerr Robertson, the institute’s honorary secretary, wrote that Ms Owusu’s comments were a “flagrant breach of confidentiality” and accused her of violating guidelines “in a serious and repeated fashion” by talking to the press. This was a reference to an interview with The Times on April 17 in which Ms Owusu claimed that Riba was institutionally racist and resorted to “Weinstein-like gagging clauses” to silence detractors. Riba said that it would investigate.

Mr Robertson’s letter was subsequently decried by Owen Luder, a former president of Riba twice, who said that it “offended the most basic principles of democracy and free speech”.

Jack Pringle, another past president, told the Architects’ Journal that “free speech is not always palatable but it is to be defended . . . Riba’s past officers and elected members have questions to answer about the financial stewardship of the institute”.

Ms Owusu said: “The missing £1.1 million is part of a much larger concern and if something isn’t done we’ll be back where we started and sailing close to the wind financially. That money would have been much better spent supporting students — many of whom emerge with £100,000 in debt — and the regions, rather than maintaining an expensive building that members don’t have access to when 66 Portland Place sits empty like a morgue.”

Riba was quick to deny that any fraud had taken place. “Despite repeated requests, the trustee has declined to provide details to substantiate why she believes this money to be ‘missing’,” Mr Vallance said.

“At Riba we take great care to manage our finances wisely in accordance with our charitable purpose and to the benefit of members, society and the communities we serve. Riba’s accounts are reviewed annually by external auditors who have at no point found any unaccounted for improper transactions as part of our accounts.”