Complaints of financial mismanagement and poor governance rejected by charity watchdog
The Scottish charity regulator has cleared a controversial church of any financial wrongdoing following the conviction of its preacher for sex abuse.
Stirling-based Agape For All Nations Ministries International hit the headlines when Walter Masocha was found guilty of sexually assaulting members of his congregation.
At Falkirk Sherif Court in June, Masocha was sentenced to 250 hours of community work for the crimes which included putting his hand down the trousers of a schoolgirl.
During the trial it was alleged the preacher, who called himself “the prophet”, was also pressurising worshipers to donate cash which he then allegedly misspent.
A number of whistle-blowers connected to the church made the claims with some complaining directly to the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR).
We reviewed the charity’s financial processes and procedures and found that they were comprehensive
OSCR representatives subsequently met with church trustees for talks about the allegations while also scrutinising its accounts and examining its governance.
However, the charity watchdog confirmed Agape was absolved of any irregularities.
A spokesman said: “We can confirm that we have concluded our inquiry into Agape For All Nations Ministries International.
“We reviewed the charity’s financial processes and procedures and found that they were comprehensive.
“We were also satisfied that the charity trustees were acting on advice from their auditor to make any necessary improvements.”
A spokesman for Agape said trustees had received confimation the church had been cleared in a letter.
He said: “Some very serious but malicious and baseless allegations were made about the church and the use of funds for charitable works.
“We were delighted to assist the OSCR investigation team and cooperated fully as they carried out a very detailed inquiry into all aspects of the finances.
“We have now received written confirmation which states that the financial processes and procedures are comprehensive and that they have no recommendations to make on our financial matters.”
In its most recent accounts, the church states it had an income of £851,000 in the year to March 31, 2014.
