Pandora Papers: How Bishop David Oyedepo Set Up Family Offshore Company In Tax Haven

How Bishop Oyedepo set up family offshore company in Tax Haven has emerged.

After Chris Oyakhilome of Christ Embassy and the late Temitope Joshua, the founder of Synagogue Church of All Nations, David Oyedepo, the founder and general overseer of Living Faith Church Worldwide, is the latest Nigerian mega-preacher found to have set up a family offshore company in the British Virgin Islands.

Mr Oyedepo’s offshore company popped up as part of the ongoing global Pandora Papers reporting project, led by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and in which Premium Times is a key participant.

The project involved 600 journalists from 150 news organisations around the world sorting and analysing a trove of almost 12 million confidential files, tracking down and interviewing sources, and adding context using public records and other documents.

The leaked files were retrieved from some offshore services firms around the world that set up shell companies and other offshore entities for clients, many of them influential politicians, businesspersons, and criminals seeking to conceal their financial dealings.

In August 2007 Mr Oyedepo contracted the services of Business Centrum Limited, a London-based agent, to help him set up a company in the infamous tax haven for him and his immediate family.

Business Centrum subsequently subcontracted Trident Trust Group, one of the world’s leading secrecy enablers and one of the most notorious providers of offshore corporate and financial services.

Although the directors of the company are Mr Oyedepo and his two sons – David (junior) and Isaac, every member of Mr Oyedepo’s family are listed as shareholders.

Mr Oyedepo and his wife, Faith, are the largest shareholders with 30 percent of shares each.

Love and Joy – the two daughters of the cleric – were similarly given 10 percent shares each.

The documents did not reveal the exact businesses and transactions the offshore company was set up to conduct. The entity however appears to be the family’s investment vehicle under which the family’s wealth is warehoused for offshore management.

When reached via his personal email address, Mr Oyedepo did not respond to questions sent to him seeking his comments.

We also sent the questions to the publicised emails of his church, including that of the church’s branch in Maryland. Some of the emails returned undelivered while we did not receive any response for those that delivered.

The telephone number Mr Oyedepo listed in company documents failed to connect.

Biblical reference

Mr Oyedepo may have tapped the name of his offshore company from the Bible. According to the books of 2 Samuel, 1 King and Ezekiel, Zadok was a loyal priest to the biblical King David.

He was instrumental in helping David suppress the rebellion of his son, Absalom.

After Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem, Zadok was the first high priest of the temple.

An entrepreneurial cleric

While the cache of documents did not reveal what type of business the company was set up for, some of the documents revealed that the company was still active at least as recently as 2016 when Trident Trust filed a resolution of the company’s board revalidating its list of directors.

Meanwhile, Mr Oyedepo, who felt “insulted” by his $150 million valuation by Forbes Magazine in 2011, is one of the main proponents of prosperity gospel in Christendom and encapsulates this by his myriad of entrepreneurial endeavours.

“Some fellow said we are worth $150 million, I said that’s an insult. $150 million? That’s an insult. I’m worth Philippians 4:19”, he said while referring to the Forbes valuation.

Philippians 4:19 reads: “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”

Recently, while reacting to reports that some of the church’s pastors were sacked without benefits, Mr Oyedepo, who described the sacked pastors as “unfruitful” and “blatant failure”, said his church had never lacked money.

“Money? Nonsense! We’ve never lacked it and yet we’ve never prayed for it. We are just simply obeying God and he is backing up what he asks us to do.”

“Obedience will turn you to a living wonder. Just obey God. Have you seen us raise a prayer point of Oh God send us money?,” he asked later during the speech.

Outside his evangelical work, he is mainly known as the founder of one of Nigeria’s most expensive universities, Covenant University. He also owns Landmark University, in Omu-Aran, Kwara State.

He also owns Faith Academy Limited alongside his wife, Faith. Faith Academy Limited is the company that runs the highbrow boarding secondary school that goes by the same name.

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