NGO watchdog, Legal Rights Protection Forum (LRPF), has filed a complaint with the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) alleging grave violations of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), 2010, and money laundering by the Christian Fellowship International Church Trust (CFICT), headquartered in Kakkanad, Ernakulam, Kerala.
The complaint also names a network of affiliated entities in Delhi, Odisha, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh, accusing them of financial diversion, use of shell companies, and deploying foreign funds for religious conversions in contravention of Indian law.
Allegations Of Diversion And Structuring
According to the complaint, CFICT is managed by trustees Thomas Mathew, Lucy Joseph Chacko, Siby Varghese, and Paulraj T.Y. While its base is in Kerala, LRPF claimed that it operates a “deliberately fragmented” network of allied trusts and societies with overlapping office bearers, designed to evade regulatory scrutiny.
Entities flagged include:
- CFI Charitable Trust, Odisha which reportedly acts as a base trust for routing funds but is not listed on the government’s NGO Darpan portal.
- CFI Charitable Trust, New Delhi which allegedly functions as an illegal branch of the Odisha trust despite lacking an FCRA registration.
- CFI Ministries, Punjab located at Lalru, Mohali, which the MHA had earlier rejected for FCRA registration due to its reported involvement in proselytization in North India.
The complaint also listed allied bodies such as the Ideal Education Society, Bhopal and New Life Development Society, Mainpuri, Uttar Pradesh, both with trustees overlapping with CFICT leadership.
Foreign Donors Under Scrutiny
The LRPF highlighted the role of foreign donors, particularly Progressive India LLC and Asia Voyager LLC, both incorporated in Colorado, USA, in July 2017, with the same registered agent and address. The complaint described them as shell companies created for channeling foreign funds.
Another major donor, Empart, headquartered in the US with branches in the UK, Canada, Germany, France, and Australia, was accused of routing money to CFICT-linked entities. The complaint noted that Jossy Chacko, who is simultaneously a trustee in India and chairman of Empart USA, represents a “clear conflict of interest” by directing foreign contributions into organizations under his own control.
Questionable Property Deals And Finances
The complaint alleged that CFICT and its affiliates used foreign funds for large-scale real estate purchases in Bhopal, Amritsar, Ernakulam, Margao, and Shillong. A property worth ₹5.59 crore was reportedly purchased directly from trustee Jossy Chacko, raising conflict of interest concerns.
It also cited several suspicious transactions, including land purchases in Shillong where sellers’ PAN cards listed addresses such as “Opposite Police Reserve,” suggesting fictitious identities.
The accounts of CFICT, according to LRPF, also revealed fictitious expenditure entries such as payments to non-existent firms like “New Lie Printers.” Advances shown in 2019–20 allegedly spiked to ₹8.68 crore from ₹16 lakh the previous year without explanation, a pattern the complaint described as “financial layering.”
Allegations Of Religious Conversion
The forum further alleged that CFICT was using foreign contributions to fund proselytization. An example cited was a premises at Shankar Garden, Ayodhya Bypass, Bhopal, allegedly maintained by CFICT as an office-cum-guesthouse. Local reports and testimonies reportedly confirmed that the site was being used for Bible distribution and conversion-related activities.
The LRPF urged the MHA to conduct a comprehensive investigation into CFICT and its affiliates, verify the legality of its foreign donors, scrutinize land purchases and related-party financial transactions, suspend or cancel FCRA registrations of the concerned entities, freeze their bank accounts, and prosecute trustees under FCRA, the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), and other applicable laws.
LRPF stated that the case represents “systematic misuse of foreign funds through a coordinated network” and that immediate government action is required to prevent further diversion.
Subscribe to our channels on Telegram, WhatsApp, and Instagram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.
