U.K. govt shuts Nigerian Pastor church over £1.9m fraud allegations

The U.K. government has shut down Salvation Proclaimers Anointed Church, commonly known as SPAC Nation, over an alleged £1.87 million fraud.

The evangelical church Pastor Tobi Adegboyega founded was wound up in the public interest in the High Court on Tuesday, June 9, 2022, the U.K. government announced on Friday, June 17.

According to a statement posted on the county’s website, the Official Receiver has been appointed as the company’s liquidator.

“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 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 pastor Dapo Adegboyega, who said that the church group had over 2,000 members and 200 ordained ministers and pastors but failed to provide any supporting information.

Further enquiries found that SPAC Nation either failed to comply or only partially complied with statutory requirements, including providing data to support claimed donations and accounting records supporting £1.87 million of expenditure.

The company’s financial statements for the two years to December 31 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 hearing.

It was also recognised that the company provided conflicting information to the Insolvency Service and Charity Commission and failed to deliver adequate accounting records,” the statement reads.