Home Affairs Minister Michael Fahy has identified at least five local charities with questionable financial records.Senator Fahy put registered charities on notice yesterday to comply with statutory regulation or risk having their registration cancelled.In a Ministerial statement issued in the Upper House he warned local charities to submit their financial statements by month’s end.Fifty of the Island’s 373 registered charities haven’t filed since 2010 despite regulations requiring them to do so within six months of the end of the financial year.“The Registrar General has already contacted the delinquent charities and given them a deadline by which all of the outstanding accounts must be submitted,” Sen Fahy said.The deadline for submission for each non-compliant charity has been communicated directly to each organisation and extends to the end of July 2013.“The Charity Commissioners have taken the view that those that do not comply by the deadline without good reason will have their registration cancelled.“To this end, all charities are encouraged to contact the Registrar General as soon as possible to make the necessary arrangements as it relates to their required submission.”But in a recent interview he told this newspaper the financial affairs of at least five files on his desk were questionable.While he did not name the charities in question, he noted that under current laws, there is very little that could be done to address the issue.“We are continuing to review a number of charities. We have identified five charities that are requiring some additional work on their financials.“These are examples of why the Charities Act needs to be amended — the commissioners require further powers to deal with such irregularities,” he said.He told Senators yesterday that it’s “imperative” that both registered charities and Bermuda’s trade unions “comply with their statutory reporting requirements” to provide “transparency in relation to these organisation’s operations”.As of June 1, “only one trade union had complied with the statutory requirement to have its annual return for 2012 submitted by the deadline”, Sen Fahy added.Under Section 18 of the Trade Union Act 1965, registered trade unions must submit an annual return to the Registrar General by June 1 every year. That includes an audited statement of receipts, funds and effects of the trade union, and a completed Form P, which provides the names of the union’s officers and trustees.“Of the remaining trade unions, two have only their 2012 annual returns outstanding, four have outstanding annual returns for 2011 and 2012, and one has not submitted an annual return since 1997 due to technical and organisational challenges.”“The Registrar General remains in contact with the trade unions on an ongoing basis in an effort to achieve full compliance.“Notwithstanding the delayed submissions, the Ministry is satisfied that the unions are indeed making good progress in addressing the issue of outstanding accounts.“In fact, we are encouraged by the progress made to date and we encourage continued diligence in this respect,” he said.“Our efforts will continue to be directed towards achieving statutory compliance and protecting the public interests. “The Progressive Labour Party was often criticised for not enforcing the regulations with regards to the Bermuda Industrial Union while in Government. But the Minister did not disclose which union he was referring to that has not submitted annual returns since 1997.However, a BIU spokeswoman said: “BIU Treasurer, Cecil Durham confirmed that the BIU is one of the ‘four who have outstanding returns for 2011 and 2012’.”Bermuda Public Services General Secretary Ed Ball Jr said: “I think the comment pertaining to the Registrar General remaining in contact with the trade unions on an ongoing basis speaks to the communication that’s going on with the Registrar General.“Open and frank communication to remain compliant with the act is a good thing,” said Mr Ball.Both the BIU and the BPSU declined to “speculate” on which union has not submitted their annual returns since 1997.