You're reading: Interior Ministry accuses Pastor Sunday Adelaja of embezzling funds of citizens

The Ukrainian Interior Ministry has accused the pastor of the Embassy of God, Sunday Adelaja, of defrauding citizens of money, the ministry's Department for Media Liaison and International Activity told Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday.

Adelaja was accused as part of the investigation into a criminal case on King’s Capital opened in January 2009, the ministry said.

“The investigator has brought charges against Nigerian citizen Sunday Adelaja, who permanently resides in Ukraine and is a senior pastor at the Embassy of God church. The charges were brought under Part 4, Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (the embezzlement of funds in very large amounts via fraud),” the ministry said.

On March 14, Adelaja was again banned from leaving his place of residence. This measure had already been applied to the pastor.

As reported, on November 24, 2008, Kyiv police officers arrested the leader of Kyiv-based financial group King’s Capital, Oleksandr Bandurchenko, on suspicion of large-scale fraud. Vice Speaker Mykola Tomenko earlier asked Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko to investigate the activities of King’s Capital due to reports about the group’s doubtful activities, and in connection with this, the company’s refusal to pay funds to its depositors.

Kyiv’s Shevchenkivsky district court arrested Bandurchenko on November 27, 2008.

Lutsenko reported the involvement of Adelaja in organizing the activities of the King’s Capital financial group on November 25, 2008.

Part 4, Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine envisages five to 12 years of imprisonment, along with confiscation of property.

var gaJsHost = ((“https:” == document.location.protocol) ? “https://ssl.” : “http://www.”);
document.write(unescape(“%3Cscript src='” + gaJsHost + “google-analytics.com/ga.js’ type=’text/javascript’%3E%3C/script%3E”));

var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker(“UA-4918283-3”);
pageTracker._trackPageview();