₦airaland Forum

UK Charity Commission freezes over 100 bank accounts linked to MFM

by Ovwe Medeme October 22, 2025

MFM is not the UK's first Nigerian-founded church to be scrutinised and sanctioned.

On Tuesday, the UK’s Charity Commission announced it had frozen the assets of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries International (MFM), a Nigerian-founded church.

On its website, the UK government concluded that its trustees failed to manage the organisation’s finances properly across its UK branches.

The UK Charity Commission is a non-ministerial department that registers and regulates charities in England and Wales, to ensure that the public can confidently support charities.

MFM, founded by Nigerian cleric Daniel Olukoya, is one of Nigeria’s most influential Pentecostal churches. It has a strong global presence, particularly in the United Kingdom, where many Nigerian diaspora communities worship.

MFM is not the first Nigerian-founded church to face scrutiny in the UK. In recent years, other Nigerian-origin churches, including SPAC Nation in December 2024 and Christ Embassy in November 2019, have been investigated regarding governance and financial accountability concerns.

The incident raises broader questions about how rapidly expanding churches adapt their internal systems when moving into regulated environments like the UK, where religious organisations registered as charities must meet strict financial reporting standards.

The case has, therefore, sparked wider conversations about financial transparency and governance among fast-growing African churches operating overseas.

How the investigation began
On 27 March 2018, the Charity Commission opened a statutory inquiry into MFM under Section 46 of the UK’s Charities Act 2011. Concerns have been raised regarding the possible misappropriation of charity funds and weak internal financial controls.

The Commission discovered that the church had expanded rapidly in the UK, growing from a few branches to more than 90 locations nationwide, without developing a solid financial governance structure to match its growth.

According to the final report, the Commission found that trustees did not properly oversee more than 100 separate bank accounts operated by different church branches. These accounts were opened and managed autonomously, often without informing central leadership or providing timely income reports.

Commission’s report
The commission reported that the church’s branches operated independently without central approval and that Major financial decisions, such as property purchases and lease agreements, were made without trustee authorisation.

Additionally, some branches used properties without securing planning permissions, leading to costly legal actions. It highlighted that Poor employment contract management resulted in financial settlements for employment disputes, and the lack of a unified monetary system created serious risks to charitable funds.

As a result, the regulator concluded that donor money was at risk due to weak financial oversight and poor governance.


Interim Manager Appointed to Restore Control
On 1 August 2019, following serious concerns about the trustees’ ability to manage the charity effectively, the Commission appointed an interim manager under Section 76(3)(g) of the Charities Act. The interim manager worked alongside the trustees to implement critical financial controls.

This oversight continued until 13 September 2024, when the interim manager was discharged after making progress.

Following the conclusion of the investigation, the Charity Commission announced that it had frozen the charity’s assets to prevent further financial risk while strengthening accountability structures.

Amy Spiller, Head of Investigations at the Charity Commission, said:

“The rapid growth of a charity comes with correspondingly larger potential risks, as our inquiry clearly shows. In this case, the trustees’ fundamental failure to maintain financial controls meant donor funds were at serious risk across their entire network.”

She added that the trustees are better positioned to ensure financial responsibility and compliance following regulatory intervention.

Regulatory Action
Upon completing its review, the Commission issued a regulatory action plan that required MFM to strengthen its governance policies and improve financial transparency. The Commission has confirmed that trustees have complied with the action plan, and the charity is now expected to operate under stricter financial controls going forward.

When this report was filed, neither MFM International nor its founder, Daniel Olukoya, had issued a public statement in response to the Charity Commission’s findings.

Collins Edomaruse, the media aide to Mr Olukoya, did not respond to calls or text messages.

budaatum:
Read full decision to be better informed!

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charity-inquiry-mountain-of-fire-and-miracles-ministries-international/charity-inquiry-mountain-of-fire-and-miracles-ministries-international

SmartPolician:
For those who may not understand this news, the UK government has a unit in charge of poverty alleviation through donations to charities and vulnerable people known as the UK Charity Commission.

Because the government considers churches as responsible organisations, they fund some UK churches so that they can help their active poor members.

However, Nigerian churches in the UK keep lóóting the money as they cannot properly account for it. Now, the government is taking action. It didn't start with MFM; Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo's church was among the first to do it.

We complain about government and yahoo boys, now churches are doing the exact same thing! Nigérians are irredeemable!

DaddyJapan:
Source: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/829908-uk-charity-commission-freezes-over-100-bank-accounts-linked-to-mfm.html

SmartPolician:
For those who may not understand this news, the UK government has a unit in charge of poverty alleviation through donations to charities and vulnerable people known as the UK Charity Commission.

Because the government considers churches as responsible organisations, they fund some UK churches so that they can help their active poor members.

However, Nigerian churches in the UK keep lóóting the money as they cannot properly account for it. Now, the government is taking action. It didn't start with MFM; Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo's church was among the first to do it.

We complain about government and yahoo boys, now churches are doing the exact same thing! Nigérians are irredeemable!

press9jatv:
This posts isn't clear here. It's just filled with lies and propaganda

ejieddy:
They are only saying keep records, give proper account and governance over your branches. It's not a bad thing. The RCCG does it. Every Branch Pastor shouldn't just take major financial decisions without carrying his superior or obtaining proper, recorded permission. But everyone wants to be a leader that takes decisions without anyone questioning them.

buckeyemedia:
Na so, because Nigerian church branches in The UK no dey help them promote homosexuality?

Same Babylonians shouting imaginary Christian genocide in Nigeria.

They can never escape paying us our reparation money for all the centuries that they whored us.

SmartPolician:
For those who may not understand this news, the UK government has a unit in charge of poverty alleviation through donations to charities and vulnerable people known as the UK Charity Commission.

Because the government considers churches as responsible organisations[b], they fund some UK churches[/b] so that they can help their active poor members.

However, Nigerian churches in the UK keep lóóting the money as they cannot properly account for it. Now, the government is taking action. It didn't start with MFM; Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo's church was among the first to be caught in the mess.

We complain about government and yahoo boys, now churches are doing the exact same thing! Nigérians are irredeemable!

SmartPolician:
For those who may not understand this news, the UK government has a unit in charge of poverty alleviation through donations to charities and vulnerable people known as the UK Charity Commission.

Because the government considers churches as responsible organisations, they fund some UK churches so that they can help their active poor members.

However, Nigerian churches in the UK keep lóóting the money as they cannot properly account for it. Now, the government is taking action. It didn't start with MFM; Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo's church was among the first to be caught in the mess.

We complain about government and yahoo boys, now churches are doing the exact same thing! Nigérians are irredeemable!

43Ronin:
The reason why I don't attend any yoruba church. Thank God for MNK for exposing them

SmartPolician:
For those who may not understand this news, the UK government has a unit in charge of poverty alleviation through donations to charities and vulnerable people known as the UK Charity Commission.

Because the government considers churches as responsible organisations, they fund some UK churches so that they can help their active poor members.

However, Nigerian churches in the UK keep lóóting the money as they cannot properly account for it. Now, the government is taking action. It didn't start with MFM; Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo's church was among the first to be caught in the mess.

We complain about government and yahoo boys, now churches are doing the exact same thing! Nigérians are irredeemable!