According to international press reports, the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) is currently embroiled in further controversy regarding their financial arrangements.
The Associated Press has reported the following:
“The founder of one of Brazil’s biggest evangelical churches siphoned off billions of dollars in donations from his mostly poor followers to buy jewellery, TV stations and other businesses for himself, authorities charged Tuesday.
A Brazilian judge accepted charges from prosecutors alleging that Bishop Edir Macedo and nine other people linked to the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God committed fraud against the church itself and against its numerous followers. Sao Paulo state’s prosecutors office alleged in a statement that Macedo and the others took more than $2 billion in donations from 2003 to 2008 alone, but charged that the alleged scheme went back 10 years.
Church lawyer Arthur Lavigne told the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo that the accused denied any wrongdoing. Church officials did not respond to attempts to reach them by phone and e-mail.Prosecutors said the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God receives nearly $800 million in donations every year from faithful in 4,500 temples across Brazil. The church claims to have nearly 8 million followers in Brazil and many more around the world. Prosecutors said the church tells its members it needs donations — cash, checks, cars and other goods — to finance new temples and to pay for religious programs on radio and TV.
The church allegedly used fake companies to launder the money, moving the assets abroad and then returning them in the form of loans used by Macedo and his accomplices to buy businesses, prosecutors said.
“There is proof that the money from the donations was used to attend to the personal interests of those being accused” and that they took advantage that the donations were not taxed to make investments in personal business, the prosecutors’ statement said.
Macedo, who founded the church in 1977, owns a large television network, three newspapers and several radio stations. He also owns a tourism agency and an air taxi company. In the early 1990s, the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God was investigated for embezzlement and tax evasion, but nothing was ever proven and the church grew stronger.”
Further reports can be found below.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/aug/13/brazil-evangelical-leader-charged-fraud
Meanwhile, UCKG may face prosecution for failing to protect workers called in to maintain the EMD building.
Maintenance staff visited the EMD recently to undertake urgent repairs following the partial collapse of a canopy on the front of the building. A representative from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) refused to allow work to continue after it emerged that asbestos found within a section of the building had not been properly treated and could be dangerous.
HSE has now forced Waltham Forest Council to issue a Prohibition Notice preventing workers entering the building until the asbestos is made safe. UCKG may face prosecution for sending workers into the premises while the asbestos threat remained unchecked. Security staff at the venue may also be interviewed by officials about the potential threat to their health. Maintenance work has taken place inside the cinema recently but this latest development proves it has not been adequate and raises further questions about UCKG’s stewardship of the building.
A report about the partial collapse of the exterior canopy can be found below.
The scene outside the EMD on Friday 7 August.
