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PANDORA PAPERS: How Pastor David Oyedepo Set Up Family Offshore Company In Tax Haven
Bishop David Oyedepo, the founder and normal overseer of Residing Religion Church Worldwide, is the newest Nigerian mega-preacher discovered to have arrange a household offshore firm within the British Virgin Islands.
Mr Oyedepo’s offshore firm popped up as a part of the continuing world Pandora Papers reporting challenge, led by the Worldwide Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and by which Press Informant is a key participant.
The challenge concerned 600 journalists from 150 information organisations around the globe sorting and analysing a trove of just about 12 million confidential information, monitoring down and interviewing sources, and including context utilizing public information and different paperwork.
The leaked information had been retrieved from some offshore companies companies around the globe that arrange shell firms and different offshore entities for shoppers, a lot of them influential politicians, businesspersons, and criminals in search of to hide their monetary dealings.
In August 2007 Mr Oyedepo contracted the companies of Enterprise Centrum Restricted, a London-based agent, to assist him arrange an organization within the notorious tax haven for him and his quick household.
Enterprise Centrum subsequently subcontracted Trident Belief Group, one of many world’s main secrecy enablers and some of the infamous suppliers of offshore company and monetary companies.
The corporate, Zadok Investments Restricted, was arrange on August 20, 2007 with 50,000 strange shares with a price of $1.00 every.
Though the administrators of the corporate are Mr Oyedepo and his two sons – David (junior) and Isaac, each member of Mr Oyedepo’s household are listed as shareholders.
Mr Oyedepo and his wife, Religion, are the biggest shareholders with 30 % of shares every.
His youngsters – David (junior), who in 2016 was appointed resident pastor of the headquarters of the church, generally known as Religion Tabernacle, has 10 % whereas Isaac, who’s the resident pastor of the church’s department in Maryland, america of America, additionally has 10 per cent of the shares.
Love and Pleasure – the 2 daughters of the cleric – had been equally given 10 % shares every.
The paperwork didn’t reveal the precise companies and transactions the offshore firm was set as much as conduct. The entity nonetheless seems to be the household’s funding car below which the household’s wealth is warehoused for offshore administration.
When reached by way of his private e-mail handle, Mr Oyedepo didn’t reply to questions despatched to him in search of his feedback.
We additionally despatched the inquiries to the publicised emails of his church, together with that of the church’s department in Maryland. A few of the emails returned undelivered whereas we didn’t obtain any response for people who delivered.
The phone quantity Mr Oyedepo listed in firm paperwork failed to attach.
Zadok Biblical reference
Mr Oyedepo could have tapped the title of his offshore firm from the Bible. Based on the books of two Samuel, 1 King and Ezekiel, Zadok was a loyal priest to the biblical King David.
He was instrumental in serving to David suppress the revolt of his son, Absalom.
And he was additionally useful to the enthronement of Solomon as David’s successor being that he was the priest that anointed Solomon’s head with oil at Gihon, which successfully made him his father’s successor.
After Solomon constructed the temple in Jerusalem, Zadok was the primary excessive priest of the temple.
An entrepreneurial cleric
Whereas the cache of paperwork didn’t reveal what kind of enterprise the corporate was arrange for, a few of the paperwork revealed that the corporate was nonetheless lively a minimum of as lately as 2016 when Trident Belief filed a decision of the corporate’s board revalidating its record of administrators.
In the meantime, Mr Oyedepo, who felt “insulted” by his $150 million valuation by Forbes Journal in 2011, is among the predominant proponents of prosperity gospel in Christendom and encapsulates this by his myriad of entrepreneurial endeavours.
“Some fellow stated we’re value $150 million, I stated that’s an insult. $150 million? That’s an insult. I’m value Philippians 4:19”, he stated whereas referring to the Forbes valuation.
Philippians 4:19 reads: “And my God will meet all of your wants in line with the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”
Just lately, whereas reacting to reviews that a few of the church’s pastors had been sacked with out advantages, Mr Oyedepo, who described the sacked pastors as “unfruitful” and “blatant failure”, stated his church had by no means lacked cash.
“Cash? Nonsense! We’ve by no means lacked it and but we’ve by no means prayed for it. We’re simply merely obeying God and he’s backing up what he asks us to do.”
“Obedience will flip you to a residing marvel. Simply obey God. Have you ever seen us elevate a prayer level of Oh God ship us cash?,” he requested later through the speech.
Exterior his evangelical work, he’s primarily generally known as the founding father of considered one of Nigeria’s most costly universities, Covenant College. He additionally owns Landmark College, in Omu-Aran, Kwara State.
He additionally owns Religion Academy Restricted alongside his wife, Religion. Religion Academy Restricted is the corporate that runs the intellectual boarding secondary college that goes by the identical title.
Mr Oyedepo can be recognized for his acquisition of a minimum of 4 personal jets which incorporates, a Gulfstream V jet, stated to be value a minimum of $30 million, two different Gulfstream planes and a Bombardier Challenger plane, which he operates utilizing one other of his firms, Dominion Air Restricted.
Dominion Air Restricted was arrange in 2005 and his second son, Isaac, is listed as considered one of its administrators.
Mr Oyedepo can be the proprietor of Hebron Oil Restricted and a slew of different companies principally positioned in his Canaanland property in Ota, Ogun State.
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