Money raised by a Nottinghamshire Islamic State supporter through a bogus charity appeal was seized and spent on genuine aid.
Adeel Ul Haq, of Sutton-in-Ashfield, was found guilty in February of helping a teenager get to the middle east to join the terror group.
He was jailed for six years after being arrested following surveillance and a raid at his home on Westbourne Drive in the town.
And it was also discovered he had been asking people to donate cash online to help civilians in Syria – then instead spending it on equipment.
After counter-terror police launched the investigation, the Charity Commission ran an inquiry into how the funds were organised by Ul Haq, the results of which have now been published.
Although there was no registered charity, Ul Haq automatically became legally responsible for administering the cash in the proper way by appealing for donations publicly.
The commission discovered Ul Haq gathered the money by appealing through a Twitter account asking for donations to ease the humanitarian crisis in Syria, saying “…keep the donations coming dear brothers and sisters. InshaAllah our work is not over. We will continue to support our suffering brethren”.
Money was paid into Ul Haq’s personal account and a PayPal account. Between July 2013 and April 2014 around £12,370 was donated or raised.
The commission discovered instead of buying aid, Ul Haq bought a laser pointer pen, a water-proof money pouch and a night vision scope.
Picture: Ul-Haq was part of a group who helped a man travel to Syria to join Islamic State
However the commission was able to seize £2,885 and pass it to a genuine charity helping civilians in Syria.
The report says: “These funds were used to support displaced and conflict affected individuals in and outside of Yarmouk (Damascus) to meet some of their minimum needs for one month.
“The funds enabled the delivery of emergency food parcels and hygiene kits and led to the improvement of personal hygiene and sanitation in often crowded collective shelters and apartments shared by multiple families.”
Michelle Russell, the commission’s director of investigations, said: “Our message to the donating public is not to let this put you off giving to charity but the best way of doing so safely is to always check if someone asking for funds is collecting for a registered charity and that they are confident that they know what the funds will be spent on – anyone can check whether a charity is registered before they give, see who its trustees are, what activities they carry out and whether they are compliant with filing their annual returns by using our online register of charities.”
