Bishop David Oyedepo, the founder and general overseer of Living Faith Church Worldwide has been reported 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), according to a report by Premium Times.
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.
Premium Times reports that on August 20, 2007, the Oyedepo family company was set up and named Zadok Investments Ltd. It was established with 50,000 ordinary shares with a value of $1 each.
The online newspaper, which is one of several media organisations actively involved in the findings, said Oyedepo and his two sons, David Jnr and Isaac, are directors of the company while every member of the Oyedepo family is listed as shareholder.
The documents, it further reports, did not reveal the exact businesses and transactions the offshore company was set up to conduct. The company is believed to be the family’s investment vehicle under which its wealth is warehoused for offshore management.
The newspaper believes the company was still active as recently as 2016, according to documents, when Trident Trust filed a resolution of the company’s board revalidating its list of directors.
Oyedepo and wife Faith hold 30 per cent of the shares each while their sons have 10 per cent each. Oyedepo’s daughters, Love and Joy, also have 10 per cent each.
Oyedepo owns universities, private jets, school and several establishments located in his Canaanland estate in Ota, Ogun State. He had considered it an insult when Forbes valued his wealth to be around $150 million in 2011.
Oyedepo and his church did not respond to the newspaper’s requests for comments.