CHESHIRE Police have thrown a cloak of secrecy over their inconclusive probe into the former Winsford charity, WINCAP.

The constabulary has refused to answer any questions posed by the Guardian in a request made under the Freedom of Information Act.

The request followed a six-month financial crime unit investigation into the defunct charity that failed to prosecute anyone over an alleged theft of money.

Questions the police have refused to answer include requests for the disclosure of how much money was stolen, and whether the matter was a theft of cash or a diversion of funds from the charity’s accounts.

The constabulary said they were ‘not obliged’ to answer the request, stating that the public interest in maintaining the disclosure exemption ‘outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information’.

The police said they were also unable to tell the Guardian how many man hours and how much money had been spent on the investigation.

Since its inception in 1995, the Winsford Community Action Project received thousands of pounds in local council funding.

In March 2009, it received £272,130 of Government money from the Big Lottery Fund to use for renovating and providing services from The Edge in Cheviot Square.

Details registered with the Charity Commission website indicate WINCAP submitted its accounts 22 days late in March 2012.

In February 2013, WINCAP announced that it needed urgent funding to survive.

The Charity Commission details that no accounts were submitted for the following month’s end of year records. Eight months later, officers swooped at The Edge.

In June, a police spokesman told The Guardian: “Following a thorough investigation into this matter, the investigating officers found the financial records kept by the charity were in disarray and consequently there was insufficient evidence to proceed with any criminal charges.”

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