Crorepati priest: KP Yohannan's NGOs draw over Rs 1000 cr foreign funding
- Ayana and Believers Church were founded and are being managed by the same person
- Several lawsuits were filed against Gospel for Asia for misusing funds in USA, Canada
FollowAmong the top 10 NGOs in the country with the highest funding from abroad, two are from Kerala - Ayana Charitable Trust and Believers Church, according to a Times of India report.
Ayana Charitable Trust from Kerala (formerly known as Gospel for Asia) topped the list of NGOs receiving the highest foreign funding in India, with Rs 826 crore raised from foreign contribution in 2015-16.
Meanwhile, Believers Church, which featured third on the list, received foreign contributions of Rs 342.63 crore, the report stated.
The other Christian charity that made it to the top four list is World Vision India, based out of Chennai, which declared contributions worth Rs 319.26 crore.
Interestingly, both Ayana and Believers Church were founded and are being managed by the same person - KP Yohannan, who hails from Kerala and is currently based in Texas.
Ayana is a Christian missionary NGO with its focus on South and Southeast Asia, while Believers Church is a large Christian church denomination. Both are based in Thiruvalla.
A renamed version of Gospel for Asia, Ayana's international work is purportedly focused mainly on Dalits in India, especially Kerala.
In Canada, Gospel for Asia faces allegations of fraud worth $94 million. The amount was understood to have been sent to India between 2007 and 2014 but most of it remains accounted for.
Several lawsuits were also filed against Yohannan and Gospel for Asia for misusing funds in USA, Canada and Europe. After several allegations were raised against the organisation, the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability in the US ended their cooperation with Yohannan and his organisation.
Reports claim that Yohannan diverted funds he got from these countries, aimed at the welfare of poor children, and purchased thousands of acres of land in various parts of India.
Despite all this, Yohannan continues to draw top dollar through his organisations, as witnessed in the latest numbers. And if some of these accusations are true, it would be interesting to see where these funds go.
