Charity Commission Launches Investigation On Chris Oyakhilome's Christ Embassy

oge okonkwo

September 4, 2014 7:11 PM

The investigation follows Oyakhilome’s widely reported divorce with wife Anita.

The Charity Commission in the United Kingdom has launched an investigation on Chris Oyakhilome, and his alleged estranged wife Anita over the transfer of N941m by the couple’s church Christ Embassy to overseas entities between 2008 and 2012.

The Commission released a statement over the matter on Wednesday, September 3, 2014, stating it has opened a statutory inquiry to investigate Christ Embassy over “a number of serious concerns relating to the use of charitable funds, in particular large connected party payments and the potential misapplication of grant funding.”

“The Charity Commission, the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales, has opened a statutory inquiry into Christ Embassy (registered charity 1059247) to investigate a number of serious concerns relating to the use of charitable funds, in particular large connected party payments and the potential misapplication of grant funding”, the statement read.

The purpose of the inquiry according to the commission is ‘to examine the regulatory concerns raised and determine whether there has been any mismanagement or misconduct on behalf of the charity trustees’. The commission further explained that it is only the ‘normal practice to publish a report on its website on conclusion of the inquiry setting out what issues the inquiry looked at, what actions were undertaken as part of the inquiry and what the outcomes were’.

The investigation follows Oyakhilome’s widely reported divorce with wife Anita. The latter reportedly accused the popular Nigerian pastor of adultery. Reports say Oyakhilome has however denied the news, threatening to sue media houses who reported the story of his alleged divorce.

oge okonkwo