An inquiry report published recently by the Charity Commission for
England and Wales, has revealed that Pastor Mathew Ashimolowo and his
12,000-member church in Britain, Kingsway International Christian Centre
(KICC) have lost the sum of $4.8 million to a Ponzi scheme.
According to the inquiry report, Ashimolowo and his church members thought they invested the equivalent of the amount in charitable funds only to discover the money was put in a Ponzi scheme run by an ex Premier League football player.
The report revealed that the church trustees doled out over $6.1 million (£5 million) in four installments between June 2009 and June 2010 to a former trustee who guaranteed that the investments would earn a sizable return totaling about 55 percent in a year.
“The inquiry established that in practice, however, the investments resulted in a net loss of £3.9 million to the charity,” the report explained.
The report states that the church’s trustees who handed over the funds were guilty of “mismanagement.”
The commission found that the church’s trustees did not “exercise sufficient care when making the decisions to invest £5 million of the charity’s funds through the ex-trustee’s investment scheme.”
“They did not follow all the principles expected of trustees to ensure they comply with their trustee duties under charity law when making those decisions,” the report concluded.
According to the inquiry report, Ashimolowo and his church members thought they invested the equivalent of the amount in charitable funds only to discover the money was put in a Ponzi scheme run by an ex Premier League football player.
The report revealed that the church trustees doled out over $6.1 million (£5 million) in four installments between June 2009 and June 2010 to a former trustee who guaranteed that the investments would earn a sizable return totaling about 55 percent in a year.
“The inquiry established that in practice, however, the investments resulted in a net loss of £3.9 million to the charity,” the report explained.
The report states that the church’s trustees who handed over the funds were guilty of “mismanagement.”
The commission found that the church’s trustees did not “exercise sufficient care when making the decisions to invest £5 million of the charity’s funds through the ex-trustee’s investment scheme.”
“They did not follow all the principles expected of trustees to ensure they comply with their trustee duties under charity law when making those decisions,” the report concluded.
