Home secretary donor reprimanded by accountancy regulator
An accountancy firm director was severely reprimanded by the regulator and handed a £14,000 fine for breaching accountancy standards.
Andeep Mangal, director of Birmingham-based accountancy firm Thapers Chartered Accountants, received a severe reprimand and a £14,000 fine on Wednesday for two separate allegations, and was ordered to pay a further £11,455 in costs to the regulator.
Mangal donated £2,500 to home secretary Shabana Mahmood in July 2025, according to public records.
During a disciplinary hearing, the accountancy regulatory body, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), said the first allegation related to Mangal incorrectly identifying a property he was managing the accounts for as a company asset for real estate firm Balmoral Properties Limited for seven years without proper inquiries or verifying the legal ownership.
The claim involved Mangal classifying the property as a company asset based on making an error about the legal ownership of the property and the equitable ownership, which refers to who pays for and benefits from it.
Second, the ICAEW had accused Mangal of knowingly filing incorrect company accounts, including the wrongly classified property, to avoid late-filing penalties. The property owner raised concerns about the accounts in 2022, and according to the ICAEW, Mangal admitted to the allegations in his witness statement.
During the hearing, counsel for the ICAEW’s conduct department, Jessica Jones, said the allegations were “not a simple technical disclosure error” and “of a serious nature”. Jones added that according to the conduct department, Mangal filing the accounts late is “entirely unacceptable.”
Mangal’s solicitor, Rory Dunlop KC, argued that the incident was “effectively an error of judgment in a very complex and difficult area.”
In a comment to City AM, Mangal said: “I am sorry that the panel reached this conclusion, but pleased that this distressing episode is now closed.”
“I acted in good faith throughout – with the best interests of my clients always paramount – and at no time have my ethics, integrity or professional propriety been called into question,” he added.
Minister backed accountant’s town improvement group
Mangal is also a director of a town improvement entity, Soho Road Business Improvement District, which Mahmood has publicly praised. Mahmood, who is the Labour MP for Birmingham Ladywood, the constituency where Mangal’s office is based.
In September 2024, after the organisation was successful in a local legal matter, Mahmood published a post on her website about the decision and said she “welcomes the decision”, which was “fantastic news”. The government minister said she has “always supported their work championing businesses on the historic Soho Road, representing their interests and improving our community.”
Rory Dunlop KC declined to comment. Mahmood was contacted for comment.