IT raids on Believers Eastern Church: Press release states around Rs. 6 crores unexplained cash found.
A post is being shared widely on social media with a claim that Rs. 7000 crores black money has been seized from the Believers Eastern Church (Kerala) by the Enforcement Directorate. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Claim: Rs. 7000 crores black money has been seized from the Believers Eastern Church (Kerala) by the Enforcement department.
Fact: The Income Tax department has not seized Rs. 7000 crores black money from the Believers Eastern Church (Kerala). The official press release by the IT department states – ‘unexplained cash of approximately Rs. 6 crores has also been found during the search, including Rs 3.85 crore in a place of worship in Delhi.’ But the IT department has found evidence which indicates that ‘the siphoning of funds in cash may be running into hundreds of crores of rupees’. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
When we searched about the raid mentioned in the post, several news articles were found in the search results. In ‘The Hindu’ article published on 6 November 2020, it can be read that ‘a crackdown by the Income Tax Department on the Thiruvalla-based Believers Eastern Church has allegedly brought to light several irregularities’. On the official website of Income Tax Department, the press release regarding the raids can be found. In the official press release, it is written – ‘Unexplained cash of approximately Rs. 6 crore has also been found during the search, including Rs 3.85 crore in a place of worship in Delhi. Substantial electronic computing and data storage has been found, which is being examined. Further investigations are going on.’ It also stated – ‘The evidence found so far indicate that the siphoning of funds in cash may be running into hundreds of crores of rupees’. Several news articles have reported the same. Some media agencies reported that official sources said a total of Rs 14 crore was seized (an extra Rs 8 crores in addition to Rs. 6 crores) but there has been no official confirmation.
The ‘Mathrubhumi’ has reported that ‘the department found that the church received Rs 6000 cr as foreign aid within the last 5 years’. But it is yet to be confirmed as other news agencies have reported that ‘it has been alleged that the Church had received over Rs 1,000 crore in foreign funds over a period of 18 years’. So, it is not Rs. 7000 crores cash seized in the raids. The statement by the Believers Eastern Church can be read in ‘The Hindu’ article.
To sum it up, the official press release by the IT department states that approximately Rs. 6 crores cash has been found during the search.