The U.K government has closed Salvation Proclaimers Anointed Church, popularly known as SPAC Nation, over an alleged £1.87 million fraud.
The Evangelical Church founded by Reverend Toby Adegboyega was wound up in the public interest at the High Court on Tuesday 9 June 2022, the U.K government announced on Friday 17 June.
According to a statement published on the state website, the beneficiary has been appointed as the liquidator of the company.
The statement reads:
“The court heard that SPAC Nation was incorporated in 2012, a charity set up to advance Christianity. Much of its charitable work was based in London, working particularly with vulnerable people, youth, and offenders.
Initially, the church group received positive reviews and media attention. But by late 2019 SPAC Nation was subject to media scrutiny following allegations by former church members they had been financially exploited by senior church personnel.
Investigators interviewed Reverend Dapo Adegboyega, who said the church group had more than 2,000 members and 200 ordained ministers and pastors, but could not provide any supporting information.
Additional investigation revealed that SPAC Nation failed to meet or only partially complied with legal requirements, including providing data to support the claimed donation and accounting records in support of £1.87 million expenditure .
The company’s financial statements in the two years to 31 December 2019 set out £610,000 of rent expenditure. However, the company did not have a single base of its own and would hire venues across London to hold services, at significant expense.
Salvation Proclaimer Ministries Limited was wound-up after the court concluded the company operated with a lack of transparency, filed suspicious or incorrect accounts, and was insolvent at the time of the hearing.
It was also recognised that the company provided conflicting information to the Insolvency Service and Charity Commission, and failed to provide adequate accounting records,”