Stone King helps recover over £1.3m for good causes

The Charity Commission announced on 22 April that it had concluded its statutory inquiries into the Kantor Foundation and the Kantor Charitable Foundation, two charities founded by Dr Vitacheslav Kantor, who was designated under sanctions legislation in 2022. The case illuminates the Commission’s often unsung regulatory role in proactively recovering charitable assets for the public benefit.

Tom Murdoch, Partner in Stone King’s Charity and Social Enterprise Team, and Tony Pidgeon, Head of Dispute Resolution at Stone King, were appointed as the Interim Managers to the charities in May 2022. We are very proud to have supported the Commission’s complex and lengthy investigation, which after three years resulted in the recovery of over £1.3m in funds for distribution to good causes. This included a violin valued at over £150,000, which has been gifted to a registered charity to promote musical education for the public benefit.

Background 

The charities were founded in June 2017 by Dr Kantor, who was the sole donor. The charities made substantial grants to organisations in the UK and elsewhere. Both charities were trusts with a single corporate trustee - Kantor Trustees – of which Dr Kantor was a director and sole member. This meant in practice that he exercised control over Kantor Trustees and, indirectly, over both charities. 

In April 2022, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Dr Kantor was designated under the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. One consequence was that it became a criminal offence to deal with funds or economic resources that he controlled - effectively freezing the charities’ assets. As a result, the Commission launched statutory inquiries into both charities, and quickly concluded that Kantor Trustees was no longer in a position to act as their trustee. Kantor Trustees was suspended from acting as charity trustee, and Dr Kantor became disqualified from acting as a trustee.

The investigation 

In May 2022, with Kantor Trustees no longer being in a position to act as the charities’ trustee, the Commission appointed Tom Murdoch and Tony Pidgeon of Stone King to be the Interim Managers of the charities. The scope of the appointment included assuming day-to-day management and administration of the charities, and assessing their future viability. The managers also took control of the charities’ assets, including funds in bank accounts, and assessed how to proceed with ongoing grant obligations.

It was concluded in June 2023 that both Kantor charities were no longer viable, given that Dr Kantor had been the sole donor and in light of the reputational difficulties the charities faced, and the Commission directed that both be wound up and dissolved. The charities were ultimately removed from the Register of Charities in May 2025. 

The Interim Managers’ investigations to identify and secure assets belonging to the two charities enabled over £1.3m to be distributed in grants to charitable causes. We were also able to recover a violin by Riccardo Antoniazzi, valued at over £150,000, which had been on loan from one charity. It was gifted to another registered charity subject to a requirement that it be used to promote musical education for the public benefit.

Conclusions 

The Commission found Dr Kantor responsible for misconduct and/or mismanagement for failing to proactively resign following his designation and for failing to cooperate with the investigation. Like the Potanin case that we reported on earlier this year, the inquiry underscores the regulatory risks where charities are reliant on a founder who later becomes designated under sanctions legislation. The case also highlights the Commission’s role in recovering charitable assets for the public benefit. We are proud to have been able to assist.