The United Kingdom’s Charity Commission has frozen assets belonging to the Mountain of Fire and Miracles (MFM) Ministries International, a church founded by Daniel Olukoya, over transparency concerns.
In a report published Monday, the commission said it opened
an inquiry after financial concerns were identified, including the alleged
misappropriation of charity funds.
The inquiry found that trustees in the MFM charity wing
could not demonstrate that they had adequate oversight or control over more
than 100 bank accounts operated by individual branches.
“Many of the charity’s financial issues stemmed from its
complex structure, which had grown from a handful of branches to over 90
locations nationwide, without the corresponding governance improvements,” the
commission found.
“Branches operated autonomously, opening bank accounts
without central oversight and failing to report income in a timely manner. This
created substantial risks to charitable funds and resulted in inaccurate
financial reporting.
“Additionally, branch offices were making significant
financial decisions, including property purchases and lease agreements, without
trustee knowledge or authorisation.”
The commission said the lack of oversight by trustees led to
financial losses for MFM.
“As a result of its findings, the Commission took action to
freeze the charity’s assets to prevent further loss,” the report noted.
Dan Aibangbe, MFM spokesperson, did not immediately respond
to TheCable’s request for comments.
In 2019, the UK Charities Commission appointed an interim
manager for MFM over concerns about the activities of the church.
The commission said it observed a repeated late filing of
financial information and a failure in the administration which gave room for
significant losses to occur.
An interim manager was also appointed to take over the
management and administration of Christ Embassy, a church owned by Chris
Oyakhilome, over similar concerns.
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