Gospel for Asia, Believers’ Church and Yohannan: Why the Pentecostal Church has been nurtured in spite of its violations of law of the land? (1)

Gospel for Asia, Believers’ Church and Yohannan: Why the Pentacostal Church has been nurtured in spite of its violations of law of the land? (1)

05-11-2020 – IT raided many premises of the Believes Church:The Income Tax (IT) sleuths on 05-11-2020 raided offices and institutions associated with evangelist K P Yohanan’s Believers’ Church in central Kerala and other places and seized Rs five crore currency and other valuables, a senior official who is part of the investigation said[1].Believers’ Church is Pentecostal denomination[2] church having base in USA and the India media never mentions this fact differentiating from the majority Catholic churches prevalent in India, particularly, in Kerala. After the raid, the CBDT informed that “Substantial electronic computing and data storage has been found, which is being examined,” to find out the transactions[3]. One of the officers said the raid which started on 05-11-2020, Thursday was continuing at many places and serious violations of Foreign Contributions Regulation Act and (FCRA) Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) were detected[4]. The searches were carried out on Thursday at 66 premises in states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Karnataka, Chandigarh, Punjab and Telangana[5]. Though the raid was conducted on 05-11-2020, slowly, the news is being reported in the media. The IT raids conducted in India may or may not be political act, however, the raided organizations, groups and individuals should have been clean in the following the law of this land.

Believers’s church has 30 Trusts involving money transactions[6]: The IT Prese release said the Thiruvalla-based group operates about 30 trusts, registered across the country, and most of them “exist only on paper and have been found to be used for routing unaccounted funds and for accommodation (hawala) transactions[7].  “It has been found that the modus operandi of the group is to systematically inflate expenses with the help of other parties who would return the inflated amount in cash through domestic hawala channels to the functionaries of the group. Some of these other parties were also covered in the search action. During the search action, evidences have been found of systematic inflation of expenses in purchase of consumables, construction expenses, real estate development expenses, payment of salary, etc. The search has led to unearthing of a number of real estate transactions involving unaccounted cash payments. Related documents such as sale agreements, etc have been seized. The group has also inflated the price in real estate transactions to show as if the money received in donations is being spent on the activities of the trusts. The evidence found so far indicate that the siphoning of funds in cash may be running into hundreds of crores of rupees.,” it said[8]. The IT Press release also recorded that, “Unexplained cash of approximately Rs. 6 crore has also been found during the search, including Rs 3.85 crore in a place of worship in Delhi. Substantial electronic computing and data storage has been found, which is being examined. Further investigations are going on”. The Believers’ Church runs a medical college and many other educational institutions in Kerala and other states. It also owns Cheruvally estate in Pathanamthitta district which has been identified as the location for the proposed Sabarimala airport.

The 2003, the grabbing case in the Keala High Court: In 2003 itself, Gospel for Asia was involved with land cases in the Kerala High Court[9]. It filed petition and the details known were: The writ petition is filed challenging Exts.P4, P5 and P8 orders passed under the Kerala Land Utilization Order, 1967 (for short, the KLU Order).

i. The petitioner was given permission under Clause 6 of the KLU Order to reclaim 3.51 hectares comprised in Survey Nos. 95/4, 236/1, 236/2, 236/3, 236/7, 236/8 and 237/8 of Kuttapuzha Village. Permission was granted by the District Collector as per the proceedings dated 20.8.2003.

ii. The petitioner reclaimed 1.53.33 hectares of land situated in Survey Nos.95/1, 2, 3, 6 and 94/6 of Kuttapuzha Village, unauthorizedly, without permission from any authority.

iii. The petitioner also reclaimed a thodu situated in Survey Nos. 236/4 and 237/7 illegally.

Though, the judge note the above facts, after going through the documents, he ordered that, “In such circumstances, this Court is of the view that finding of facts and the directions have no co-relation based on legal aspects and thus the impugned orders are liable to be set aside. Accordingly, the District Collector is directed to pass fresh orders after hearing the petitioner and the party respondents in the light of the discussions as above. Needful shall be done within two months. Needless to say, the District Collector shall obtain necessary details from the Agricultural Officer regarding the status of the land as well as the status of the thodu in the revenue records from the Tahsildar. In view of the above, the impugned orders are set aside.” Thus, it is evident that GFA had support from many quarters for its land grabbing activities.

2012 to 2017 – involved in many violations: In 2012, the state government had ordered a probe against KP Yohannan, as he was receiving foreign contribution by violating the Foreign Exchange Management Act[10]. The accounts were not kept properly.

Gospel for Asia (GFA) is a non-profit missions organization, founded by K. P. Yohannan in 1979, focusing on residents of Asian countries. The organization is located about five miles southwest of Wills Point, Texas, a small community east of Dallas.

The president and founder Moran Mor Athanasius Yohan Metropolitan (formerly known as K. P. Yohannan).

In 2013 also, the Kerala High court ordered[11], “We see substance in the executive wisdom leading to the issuance of that circular. A very cautious approach was adopted by the Additional Chief Secretary in saying that, in case any action is sought to be taken which has a direct impact on the stand taken before the Hon’ble High Court, the concerned officials have to get clear cut directions in writing from the Government in this respect, before proceeding with such proposed action. No change in the status of the said lands by way of ownership, tenure or otherwise, shall be carried out without the approval of the Government. Therefore, the conspectus of the circular takes within its sweep all matters relating to ownership, tenure and such aspects which touch on the status of the lands referable to M/s. Harrisons Malayalam Limited. However, the impugned notices appear to have been issued, with due respect, off-the-cuff, on the premise that the aforesaid circular interdicts all activities by persons in possession. We may, at this juncture, notice that in an earlier round of writ petition, Gospel for Asia had obtained orders from this Court quashing earlier proceedings against it and also an order for return of seigniorage which it had paid under protest. Under such circumstances, it is part of its proprietary rights to carry out necessary actions, to put the land to use, without changing its nature or status; to preserve it and to ensure that, there are no further inter-meddlers. This would also be necessary for it to obey the undertaking or command contained in the different orders, as are pointed out by the learned Special Government Pleader under which, the Gospel for Asia also stands obliged to this Court to protect the property concerned. This includes interdictions against alienations, change of tenure against encumbering etc.”.

In September 2015, GFA lost their 36-year membership in the financial standards advocacy group Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA), with the ECFA reporting that GFA had not met many of their required standards[46] of excellence in financial accountability and governance.

 In 2017, the Union home ministry had barred three NGOs associated with the church from accepting funds but the latest raids show fund flow continued from foreign countries in other names. It is alleged that more than Rs 100 crore came in the last three years. A senior I-T official said the department will release details once raids are over. He said raids were based on specific information on tax evasion and misuse of foreign funds. The church said it will give a statement after the conclusion of raids. An independent denomination, the indigenous church has witnessed massive growth in the last one and a half decade and its head KP Yohanan is known for his religious discourses. The 70-year-old priest is the founder and president of Gospel of Asia, a large non-profit evangelist organisation with main focus on India and Asia. He has also authored more than 100 books on Christian living and mission. A controversial religious head, he was in news when the church brought Chreuvally Estate, a rubber and tea plantation spread over 10 kms radius, from plantation group Harrisons Malayalam Limited.

2016 – Youhannan acquired the lands, illegally, BJP leader: Believers’ Church purchased the working rubber plantation — Cheruvally Estate — from the Harrisons Malayalam Ltd company in 2005. According to the Times of India, a high ranking official in the party of Prime Minister Modi claims the church should not be repaid for the property since it was acquired illegally[12]: The government does not need permission from K P Yohannan to set up airport in the Cheruvally estate, BJP national executive member V Muraleedharan said. Muraleedharan said that when the government plans to buy the 2,200 acre Cheruvally estate from the encroachers and set up the airport, it would set a wrong precedence for encroachers of government land in other areas. The opposition was against this move that would set the ground for large-scale corruption, he said. The estate, which was being held by Gospel for Asia headed by K P Yohannan, was part of 5,200 acres that was taken over by the special officer along with the land held by Travancore Rubber and Tea Company Ltd and Riya Resorts and Properties Pvt Ltd. Cheruvalli estate is one among the estates that was sold by Harrisons Malayalam Ltd in 2005 that the government has said, is illegal[13].

© Vedaprakash

08-11-2020

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[1] Hindusthan Times, I-T raids at Kerala church, foreign funding rules violation detected , INDIA, HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times, Thiruvanathapuram, Updated: Nov 07, 2020, 11:04 IST.

[2] Pentecostal protestant Christianity has been relating to or denoting any of a number of Christian movements emphasizing baptism in the Holy Spirit, evidenced by ‘speaking in tongues’, prophecy, healing, and exorcism.

[3] https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/i-t-raids-at-kerala-church-foreign-funding-rules-violation-detected/story-IgTzC1UnpEYBRkWOGuo2uO.html

[4] The Hindu, Raids bring to light shady deals of Believers Church, STAFF REPORTER, PATHANAMTHITTA, NOVEMBER 06, 2020 18:43 IST; UPDATED: NOVEMBER 06, 2020 18:43 IST.

[5] https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/raids-bring-to-light-shady-deals-of-believers-church/article33041420.ece

[6] IT Press frelease dated 06-11-2020;  https://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/Lists/Press Releases/Attachments/872/PressRelease_ITD_conducts_searches_in_Kerala_6_11_20.pdf

[7] The Tribune, I-T raids Kerala evangelist, his churches’ group on charges of siphoning donations meant for poor, Posted: Nov 06, 2020 02:06 PM (IST), Updated : 22 hours ago.

[8] https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/i-t-raids-kerala-evangelist-his-churches-group-on-charges-of-siphoning-donations-meant-for-poor-166929

[9] Kerala High Court

Gospel For Asia vs State Of Kerala on 20 August, 2003

In the High Court of Kerala at Ernakulam.

Petitioners:

Gosper for India, Manjaadi PO, Thiruvalla, Pathanamthitta District, Kerala State, Represented by Smt. Siny Punnose, Managing Trustee and Chief functionary through her power of attorney holder and General Administrator of the Church,

Jacob Bothen, aged 57 years, s/o late Pothen, Theradiyal House, Niranam West Muri, Niranam Village, Thiruvalla Thaluk. https://indiankanoon.org/doc/113281329/

[10] Mathrubhumi, I-T raid at headquarters of Believers’ Church in Thiruvalla, Nov 5, 2020, 10:42 AM IST.

https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/kerala/i-t-raid-at-headquarters-of-believers-church-in-thiruvalla-1.5185090

[11]     Kerala High Court, Gospel For Asia vs The State Of Kerala on 28 February, 2013.

WP(C).No. 7379 of 2012 (V).

Kerala High Court

Gospel For Asia vs State Of Kerala on 20 August, 2003

In the High Court of Kerala at Ernakulam.

Petitioners:

Gosper for India, Manjaadi PO, Thiruvalla, Pathanamthitta District, Kerala State, Represented by Smt. Siny Punnose, Managing Trustee and Chief functionary through her power of attorney holder and General Administrator of the Church,

Jacob Bothen, aged 57 years, s/o late Pothen, Theradiyal House, Niranam West Muri, Niranam Village, Thiruvalla Thaluk.

https://indiankanoon.org/doc/117264200/

[12] Times of India, ‘Yohannan has no stake in Cheruvally estate’,TNN | Dec 7, 2016, 10:16 IST.

[13] https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/thiruvananthapuram/Yohannan-has-no-stake-in-Cheruvally-estate/articleshow/55842542.cms

Tags: Believers Church, CBDT, diversion of funds, FCRA, FEMA, foreign funds, GFA, Gospel for Asia, Income Tax, Kerala Land Utilization Order, KP Yohannan, land grabbing, Moran Mor Athanasius Yohan, Pentacostal Church, real estate, Yohannan