Income Tax (IT) detectives raided offices and institutions associated with the Evangelist KP Yohanan’s Church of the Believers in central Kerala and elsewhere and seized Rs five crore in currency and other valuables, said a senior official which is part of the investigation.
The officer said the raid that began Thursday was continuing in many places and serious violations of the Foreign Tax Regulation Act and the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FCRA) (FEMA) were detected. The Church of the Believers runs a medical college and many other educational institutions in Kerala and other states. It also owns the Cheruvally farm in the Pathanamthitta district, which has been identified as the location of the proposed Sabarimala airport.
In 2017, the Union Ministry of the Interior had banned three NGOs associated with the church from accepting funds, but the latest raids show that the flow of funds continued from foreign countries under other names. It is alleged that more than 100 million rupees arrived in the last three years. A senior IT official said the department will release details once the raids are over. He said the raids were based on specific information about tax evasion and misuse of foreign funds. The church said it will release a statement after the raids are over.
An independent denomination, the indigenous church has witnessed massive growth in the last decade and a half and its director, KP Yohanan, is known for his religious speeches. The 70-year-old priest is the founder and president of Gospel of Asia, a large non-profit evangelistic organization that focuses primarily on India and Asia. He is also the author of more than 100 books on Christian life and mission.
A controversial religious chief, he was in the news when the church brought the Chreuvally Estate, a rubber and tea plantation spread out within a 10 kilometer radius, from the Harisons Malayalam Limited plantation group. In July, the Kerala High Court ordered the state government not to forcibly acquire the land for the airport after KP Yohanan moved the court.
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