The UK government has shut down the very controversial SPAC Nation church after it has failed to account for over £1.87 million of expenditure amongst other fraud allegations.
Salvation Proclaimer Ministries Limited, better known as SPAC Nation, was wound up in Court on June 9 after enquiries into its activities were made by The Insolvency Service, a government agency.
The Insolvency Service had received a number of complaints about SPAC Nation before launching a full-blown investigation.
After the enquiries, the agency found that the church did not fully meet statuary requirements, such as providing data to back up claimed donations and account records in support of spendings to the tune of £1.87 million.
The church’s recent financial statements showed £610,000 earmarked for rent, even though it did not have a base and would hire various venues across London to hold its services.
During interviews that formed part of the investigation, Dapo Adegboyega, one of the company’s directors claimed that the church had over 2,000 members and 200 ordained ministers and pastors, but was unable to provide supporting information.
The court heard that SPAC Nation was established in 2012 as a charity set up for the advancement of Christianity. The church’s charitable work was mostly focused on the vulnerable and young people of London as well as rehabilitating past offenders.
It was also stated that the information the company provided to the Insolvency Service and Charity Commission was inconsistent.
The court concluded that SPAC Nation operated with a lack of transparency, had suspicious or inaccurate account filings, and was insolvent at the time of the hearing.
The chief investigator of the Insolvency Service, Edna Okhiria spoke about the concerns the court had about SPAC Nation’s dealings.
“While SPAC Nation claimed it had noble intentions to support vulnerable and young people, our enquiries uncovered a different side of the charity. There were clear concerns around how the church group managed its affairs and SPAC Nation failed to properly account for income received from donations and other expenditure. The court recognised the severity of SPAC Nation’s actions and this sends a strong message that proper records and accounts must be maintained, even if you’re a charity,” said Okhiria.
A Deep Dive into SPAC Nation Controversy.
SPAC Nation has gained a reputation for pushing the “Prosperity Gospel” on steroids and establishing what many term a cult membership, majority of whom are young Black people from poor communities.
With ostentatious displays of wealth from its leaders on Instagram and YouTube, and several recurring accusations of exploiting vulnerable young people, the church has received a lot of backlash.
Trap houses – safe houses where many young members live – run by the church leadership have also fuelled the perception of a cult membership.
The church’s founder, Pastor Tobi Adegboyega is often seen moving in luxury cars and clad in expensive designer clothing – even adopting the “offending with Fendi” catchphrase which he allegedly retained the rights to in a legal case made against him by Fendi.
SPAC Nation, however, has not always been the subject of public scrutiny. Shortly after the church was established, it was praised by UK politicians for its efforts to rehabilitate ex-gang members, taking them off the streets and integrating them into the church community.
The church has also carried out a lot of evident charitable work in the past.
However, most of the praises for the church were quickly swallowed up by numerous allegations of financial exploitation and abuse.
Alleged victims came out to say that the church’s pastors pressured youths into taking out hefty loans to give to the church. Perhaps the most bizarre of the allegations was that the church leaders had encouraged members to give money earned from blood donations to the church, a practice they called “bleeding for seed”.
Following months of public criticism, the church rebranded as “Nxtion Family” in June, 2020. This was a month after Pastor Tobi Adegboyega publicly stepped down as the leader of the church, a move that was seemingly inconsequential as he is still the face of the church.
Sources: The Independent