Kochi: The Income Tax department has raided the offices and residences of those associated with evangelist K P Yohannan’s Believers Eastern Church.
The November 5 raids were based on specific inputs on alleged tax evasion and Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) violations conducted by the Thiruvalla-based Church.
Special squads led by senior officials coordinated the raids at the offices and residences of key persons of the Church situated in Kerala and other states. The tax team also conducted a search at the medical college hospital run by the institution at Thiruvalla, Kerala.
The Believers Church has earlier courted controversy after the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2017 barred it and three NGOs associated with it from accepting foreign funds. It has been alleged that the Church had received over 10 billion rupees in foreign funds over a period of 18 years.
However, the church’s United States-based partner ministry also headed by Yohannan, Gospel for Asia, has refuted media reports, calling them “thinly sourced and unsubstantiated.”
The Thiruvalla-based Believers Eastern Church, an evangelical denomination planted by the U.S.-based Gospel for Asia in 1993, and now claims nearly 4 million members across 16 countries.
According to a report in the Hindu newspaper of India, the operation began in the morning and continued through the evening.
According to The Hindu, government officials seized the equivalent of over $77,000 from the trunk of a car parked at the church’s headquarters as well as financial documents.
India, which is ranked by Open Doors USA as the 10th worst nation in the world in Christian persecution has in the last few years revoked the licenses of several Christian organizations to accept foreign donations.
According to The Hindu, Believers Eastern Church was put on the radar of the government following allegations that the network has received foreign donations through associated nongovernmental organizations.
“While GFA World is a separate, legal entity operating under U.S. law, and has no offices in India, we have been in touch with our implementation partner in India (Believers Eastern Church) and we understand that most of these reports are based on exaggerated rumors,” a Gospel for Asia statement read.
“This is, they believe, the latest effort in an ongoing smear campaign targeting the ministry by those who are opposed to BEC’s mission in Asia. As an example, there have been attempts by private organizations and mid-level local officials to ascertain church membership rolls and documentation as to when certain individuals joined their Christian community.”
GFA asserted that Believers Eastern Church “refutes all allegations that there have been any violations of government regulations regarding foreign funding.”
“They have told us they are in compliance with India’s rules and regulations regarding funding and will continue to comply as the law is written.”
GFA suggested that what is happening to Believers Eastern Church is a type of “Christian persecution.”
“Over the past few years, we have watched as persecution has increased dramatically across the mission field. Jesus Himself told us this would happen in Matthew 10, when He warned believers to expect opposition whenever they go forth in His name. This situation is no different.
“Let’s be clear: there are orchestrated attacks being faced by Christian entities throughout the entire subcontinent, and Believers Eastern Church is no exception.”
Source: newindianexpress.com and christianpost.com