The Charity Commission has launched an investigation into potential conflicts of interest between motorsport governing body Fédération Internationale de L’ Automobile (FIA) and its road safety charity FIA Foundation.

The regulator has also issued the Foundation with a temporary protective order which “prevents the charity and its trustees from entering certain transactions without the prior written approval of the Commission”.

The Commission has also launched the inquiry to ensure the charity’s property is protected while it investigates concerns.

The investigation will investigate “the extent to which the trustees are complying or have complied with their legal duties in respect of the administration, governance and management of the charity”.

It will specifically look at the relationship between the charity and FIA and “whether any conflicts of interest have been appropriately identified and managed, with specific reference to grants awarded by the charity”.

It will also look at “whether any of the charity’s property has been or is at risk and to take action to protect such property”.

The charity supports initiatives that promote road and vehicle safety, clean air, electric cars, safe motorsport and tackling speeding on roads. It works globally and was set up as a UK registered charity 25 years ago by the FIA.

A spokesperson on behalf of the FIA Foundation said: “The Charity Commission has contacted the FIA Foundation raising regulatory issues. The Commission has informed the Foundation that this regulatory engagement is not a finding of wrongdoing.

“The trustees of the Foundation are confident that its affairs have been properly conducted, and they intend to co-operate fully with the Commission to achieve a speedy resolution of the Commission’s concerns.”

Last year there was a change of leadership at the charity, when Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the president of FIA replaced head of Motorsport UK David Richards as its chair.

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