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Google PlayThe controversial, UK-based church SPAC Nation—also known as Salvation Proclaimer Ministries Limited—has been shut down after a series of allegations of fraud were brought to the High Court on June 9.
According to the Insolvency Service and Charity Commission, the church was forced to close after it was unable to properly account for more than £1.87 million of outgoings. It was also accused of “operating with a lack of transparency”. SPAC first emerged several years ago and was praised for its work with ex-gang members, but was then investigated in 2019 by the Huffington Post who accused SPAC of creating “the conditions for fraudsters to flourish within its ranks”.
The Huffington Post also reported multiple cases of some of the church’s pastors pressuring young members of its congregation, many of them from impoverished communities, into taking out substantial loans of thousands of pounds that they couldn’t repay. SPAC Nation continues to deny these allegations. There were also allegations of something called “bleeding for seed”, where pastors allegedly pressured young people in the congregation to sell their blood to raise funds for the church.
A recent financial statement filed by SPAC stated £610,000 of rent expenditure, even though the company did not have a permanent base of operations and frequently hired temporary venues for its services. In June 2020, SPAC Nation rebranded as Nxtion Family following head pastor Tobi Adeboyega’s announcement that he would be stepping down as the church’s leader.
“While SPAC Nation claimed it had noble intentions to support vulnerable and young people, our enquiries uncovered a different side of the charity,” says Edna Okhiria, chief investigator for the Insolvency Service. “There were clear concerns around how the church group managed its affairs and SPAC Nation failed to properly account for income received from donations and other expenditure. The court recognised the severity of SPAC Nation’s actions and this sends a strong message that proper records and accounts must be maintained, even if you’re a charity.”
The Insolvency Service also found that SPAC had either not complied at all or only partially complied with its legal obligations, including providing proof of donations and accounting records detailing £1.87 million of spending. They also allegedly provided inconsistent information and failed to hand over full accounting records to the Insolvency Service and Charity Commission.
