Academy chief quits over missing cash

The Royal Academy was thrown into chaos today as it was revealed that a senior academic has resigned over allegations of fraud.

Professor Brendan Neiland has quit after an internal investigation discovered that £80,000 had vanished from funds intended for students.

The professor has left the country in the wake of the scandal and lost his job as Keeper of the Royal Academy Schools.

Stafford-born Professor Neiland was a prominent and respected member of the arts establishment. A prodigious painter, he trained at the Royal College of Art and has exhibited at the ICA and the V&A.

His work has been bought by the Arts Council, the Fitzwilliam in Cambridge and the Tate Collection.

The fraud scandal now threatens the reputation of Britain's most prestigious artistic body - and its worldwide fundraising effort.

The investigation began when rumours circulated within the academy that Professor Neiland had been heard boasting to a colleague at a drink-fuelled party.

The colleague alerted Royal Academy authorities and he was suspended for the course of the investigation.

Professor Neiland was appointed to his high-profile post six years ago.

Today's revelations are the second major financial scandal at the Royal Academy in a decade.

Trevor Clark, bursar at the RA, was dismissed eight years ago after a police investigation found he had stolen £400,000 to fund a lavish lifestyle for his family.

The father-of-four enjoyed exotic holidays, sent his children to private school, bought ponies and luxury cars and entertained regularly at the family five-bedroom Hertfordshire home - all on an official income of only ?30,000 a year. He was sentenced to five years in prison.

The RA said in a statement today that Professor Neiland's resignation "was unanimously accepted by the Council, at a special meeting held on Wednesday" and followed an investigation into "administrative and financial irregularities in the Schools".

It added: "The internal investigation was undertaken following discovery of an unauthorised bank account in the schools and a pattern of unauthorised deposits and disbursements.

"The total sum not properly documented was approximately ?80,000. This was in breach of the Academy's high standards of financial management. The Academy is working with outside advisers to take any remedial action recommended and is notifying all relevant bodies of this incident."