Pastor Adelaja Can Face 12 Years in Prison

The pretrial investigation in the case of the financial fraud of the company King’s Capital is completed and the police invited the deceived depositors to get acquainted with the materials.

Unian reports with reference to a report of the newspaper Hazeta Po-Kyivsky of October 20 that the procedure can last for months as the case includes 100 volumes and several thousand defrauded.

The lawyer of the defrauded, Ivan Bondaruk reported to the newspaper that on October 20, the defrauded began to receive letters from the Main Investigation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs signed by the investigation officer, Nazarenko, informing them that the pretrial investigation is completed. Bondaruk was quoted by Hazeta Po-Kyivsky on October 20 as saying that Adelaja would be indicted for alleged fraud, creating a criminal organization, and forgery, noting that Adelaja, in fact, is a co-founder of King’s Capital along with two other men. The case is expected to go to trial sometime in December after Adelaja and his lawyers finish studying the charges. If convicted, Adelaja could face up to 12 years in prison.

Adelaja was accused in November 2009 of being involved in the dealings of King’s Capital, a financial group led by a member of his congregation. According to a report of Kyiv Post of October 20, the company promised as much as 60 percent returns on investments and drew many of its investors from the church. Several church members complained to the authorities that they were unable to recover the money they invested, which left many of them bankrupt. Police later arrested one of King’s Capital leaders, Oleksandr Bandurchenko, on suspicion of fraud.

The pastor has repeatedly denied involvement in King's Capital. The organization promised returns as high as 60 percent, but last November stopped paying dividends to investors, most of whom were church members. Some went to authorities last fall, claiming they had lost as much as $100 million, says the report.