Tag: K.P. Yohannan

Gospel for Asia Still Suing Google and Facebook Even Though K.P. Yohannan Claimed Victory in 2012

A comment at the Phoenix Preacher blog tipped me off to the following story.
In December 2012, Gospel for Asia CEO, K.P. Yohannan, wrote an article trumpeting what Yohannan said was a positive verdict in a lawsuit filed in the Delhi High Court.* Here is how Yohannan described the case and circumstances leading up to it.

A Verdict that Vindicated

Although we never discussed this publicly until now, I have wondered if some of our friends like you might have become confused by this negative media. But what could we do? The Lord knew our hearts, and it would be up to Him to defend us. So we sought Him. We prayed. We fasted. And slowly, step by step the Lord went before us.

At first, we had no idea that all the false information out there was originating from one source or what we could do about it. Gradually, we were able to understand what was happening, and last year, we learned that we could appeal to the government of India and to the High Court in Delhi to look into these cyber attacks on us—which we did. Then, during this last year, various governmental departments investigated Gospel for Asia’s activity in detail to see if any of these accusations were true.

I am grateful to the Lord that what was meant for evil, God used for good. After studying us, these departments determined that we were one of the most upright groups in the country, truly improving the nation. The High Court thus issued a verdict, directing networking sites to remove and stop uploading any false information about Gospel for Asia and our various ministries. In addition, the High Court also had those who posted this misinformation arrested and the material they uploaded removed.

God Came to Our Rescue

I thank God for His grace, mercy and answer to our prayers. He came to our rescue and defended us.
Because you have been with us on this journey, I wanted to let you know what has transpired and give you the opportunity to hear the truth from us, especially if any of this misinformation ever caused doubt in your mind. Below are some links to articles about the verdict from the Indian High Court in Delhi.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/hc-notice-to-google-facebook-on-churchs-plea/1037044/
http://www.business-standard.com/generalnews/news/hc-notice-to-google-facebookchurchs-plea/84729/

That’s Not What the Articles Say
Yohannan’s description makes it appear that the Delhi High Court issued a verdict in 2012 which led to removal of articles from the Internet and the arrest of perpetrators of defamation. However, the articles Yohannan provided contradict his story. Both links lead to stories which describe a lawsuit filed by GFA and Believers’ Church against Google, Facebook and some unnamed other defendants. The first one is dated November 27, 2012 and says:

The Delhi High Court today sought the replies of various social networking sites including Google and Facebook to a plea for removal of “defamatory and derogatory” articles against a church and an NGO from their sites.

Issuing notice to M/s Google India Pvt Ltd, its subsidiaries – You Tube, Blogger, Blogspot.in and also to Facebook, Justice Valmiki Mehta sought their replies by January 7, next year.

The court issued the notice on a joint plea of Gospel for Asia (a city-based NGO) and Believers Church, which alleged that “there are several malicious contents with intent to defame and destroy the reputation of entire organisation (church) including it founder Metropolitan Bishop Dr K P Yohannan and Rev Fr Daniel Varghese, Diocesan Secretary of the church.”

“Certain persons with vested interest are continuously trying to malign the reputation of the organisation by uploading defamatory contents on internet.

“The Google and other intermediaries are liable to restrict these contents as per Section 79 (3)(a) of the Information Technology Act since,” said the complaint filed through counsel Deepak Prakash.

The civil suit also cited the statements of former presidents A P J Abdul Kalam and Pratibha Devi Singh Patil appreciating the work of the organisation and claimed that “different government agencies verified and appreciated the work of the organisation on different occasions and stated that there is no negative remark about them from any corner.”

The plea claimed that the organisation is serving in more than 13 countries with its charity missions reaching lakhs of poor and downtrodden people and improving their standard of living which also means to earn a good life.

“It is carrying out welfare and development activities all over India. It implements projects especially in remote and rural areas and city slums, by its nation building project and providing adequate possibilities to down-trodden and needy to become healthy, productive and functional citizen of this country irrespective of caste, creed and gender,” the plea said.

GFA lauded themselves in their plea to the court, but there was no verdict given in the case. Instead, the judge gave Google, Facebook and others until January, 2013 to answer the suit: “Justice Valmiki Mehta sought their replies by January 7, next year.” According to this article, there was no verdict. The defendants were given a chance to answer, and initially those responses were due after Yohannan wrote his article.  The second article provides the same information and nothing about a verdict. 
This case was also covered at the time by Christian Today in an article published November 30, 2012. In all three articles, it is very clear that no verdict had been given by the court. In fact, the first action by GFA and BC against Google and Facebook was filed on November 21, 2012 in the Delhi High Court.
The Case is Still Active
The most recent development in the case was filed today.  In other words, this case that K.P. Yohannan said was God rescuing GFA with a “verdict that vindicated” has not been settled as of today. The next action in the case is slated for December 7, 2015.

IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI +
CS(OS) 3297/2012
GOSPEL FOR ASIA & OTHERS
….. Plaintiffs Through Mr. Deepak Prakash, Advocate
versus GOOGLE INC & OTHERS
….. Defendant Through Mr. Angad Singh Dugal, Advocate for defendant no.1 Mr. Akhil Anand and Ms. Richa Srivastava, Advocates for defendant no.4
CORAM:
SH. ANIL KUMAR SISODIA (DHJS), JOINT REGISTRAR (JUDICIAL) O R D E R
30.07.2015
IA No. 22211/2014
Defendants have not filed reply to the application, except defendant no.4, despite last and final opportunity given on the last date of hearing. In these facts and circumstances, the opportunity to file by other defendants stands closed.
Put up for arguments on the application on 7th December, 2015.
ANIL KUMAR SISODIA (DHJS) JOINT REGISTRAR (JUDICIAL)
JULY 30, 2015 savita

It appears that Google did not file a reply to the plaintiffs. Facebook did file one.  I have contacted GFA’s lawyer, Google’s and Facebook’s lawyer and Google’s and Facebook’s press contacts about the case with no answers as yet. UPDATE 7/31 – I reached Angad Singh Dugal, advocate for Google in the case. He confirmed that the case is still active and added that Google has filed a reply in defense.
What is clear is from the court record (you can see everything available on the Delhi High Court website) is that this case has been continued, dragging on for nearly three years, and no verdict has been rendered.
Is K.P. Yohannan unaware of these facts? Or is this story like his denial of followers kissing his ring?
In any case, Yohannan’s faulty narrative about this case provides another reason why GFA should become more transparent and address pastors’ and donors’ questions about cash smuggling, unaccounted for funds, and numerous others concerns.
 
 
 
*High Courts in India appear to be like our federal District Courts. This case was filed in the Delhi High Court.

A Canadian Pastor Explains Why His Church Dropped Support for Gospel for Asia

Bruce Morrison is a pastor in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, Canada. For 20 years, Morrison’s church supported Gospel for Asia but stopped doing so in April of this year. Now, in a 13 page letter, Morrison details the reasons for ending support and provides insight into his efforts to get answers from GFA.

Morrison’s findings are very similar to my own. While we have spoken some over the past several weeks, Morrison began looking into GFA’s finances about a month before I did. His church dropped support about the time I began writing about GFA and came as the result of his research and efforts to get answers from GFA.

Read Morrison’s letter with the knowledge in mind that his church supported GFA for 20 years. It is hard to believe that a church with that track record would be unable to get basic answers from a mission organization. However, given my experience with GFA, I certainly believe it. The lack of information and answers should be a red flag to current and prospective donors.

Silence is complicity
Morrison writes with concern for other churches. After asserting that “stories of abuse at the hands of spiritual leaders are far more common than they should be,” Morrison writes:

It is with both a sense of reluctance, but also of moral responsibility, that I write this letter to the larger body of Christ. Reluctance – from the unpleasantness of speaking about the need for correction in a Christian ministry, and responsibility – since silence in instances such as I will describe herein is complicity.

If GFA has answers to the issues which Morrison raises, it it beyond my understanding why they have not offered them. Specifically, Morrison wants an explanation of why foreign contributions to India for 2013 in the amount of $43.48 million do not show up in Indian records. He wants to know why over $150 million was sitting in Indian banks at the end of FY 2013. He wants to know if GFA got written permission from donors to bank around $50 million in a corpus fund.  There are many other questions as well. I have been raising these same questions independently since April.

I encourage readers to read Morrison’s letter to the “larger body of Christ.”

Gospel for Asia's Auditor Retains Attorney for Some Reason

This is getting interesting.
On Tuesday afternoon, I contacted Bland Garvey, the accounting firm which did Gospel for Asia’s 2013 audit. I wanted to know if BG had been retained to do GFA’s 2014 audit and perhaps learn why the audit is not out yet. As I understand it, GFA has to turn in an audited financial statement by July 31 to the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability as a part of the requirements for membership. GFA is a charter member of ECFA. GFA has been referring to the organization’s membership in ECFA as a means of deflecting questions unaccounted for funds and so it is probably important to protect that membership.
When I called BG, I was referred to attorney Gary Kessler. I called and wrote Attorney Kessler with the following questions:

Is Bland Garvey doing the 2014 audit for Gospel for Asia? If not, why not?
If so, will BG correct the misstatements from the 2013 audit that GFA-US only gave money to GFA India and several other GFAs in Asia when in fact GFA-US also gave money to three other NGOs?
The amount of money GFA said they donated to GFA-India is millions more than what GFA-India reported to the Indian govt. Will BG mention this discrepancy?
Last years audit was complete by June 13; this years is much later. If BG is doing the audit then why has this audit been delayed.

He wrote back with the following:

Mr. Throckmorton,
Applicable law prevents a CPA from communicating the information you requested. I advise you to contact Gospel For Asia and obtain the information you seek.
Thank you.
Gary

I wrote back asking for citation of TX law that forbids BG from acknowledging their auditing relationship with GFA and asked if he was representing BG in any litigation. He wrote back to say:

Please contact Gospel for Asia for any information you desire regarding the organization. I will not be responding to any more of your requests.
Thank you.
Gary

And so Mr. Kessler joined a growing list of people from Texas who don’t want to talk to me.
Having looked at the CPA law, I can understand why BG cannot address all of my questions. However, just telling me that they are doing GFA’s audit isn’t as clear cut to me. According to TX law, if BG has told the anyone in the public that GFA is an audit client, then they are not required to withhold information. See this clause:

The provisions contained in subsection (a) of this section do not prohibit the disclosure of information already made public, including information disclosed to others not having a confidential communications relationship with the client or authorized representative of the client.

I already know BG did the 2013 audit so I know there was a relationship. And it is possible that others not now affiliated with GFA know if BG is auditing the books. This should be known soon enough because that audit should be available to the public if GFA wants to remain a member of ECFA. That is, of course, unless ECFA gives GFA a pass. Hopefully, then we will know if GFA corrects the misstatements in the 2013 audit.
What puzzles me is why BG didn’t just tell me that but instead referred me to an attorney who in turn referred me to GFA.
 

C'mon Gospel for Asia, Let's Talk

On May 7, 2015 Gospel for Asia’s Chief Operating Officer David Carroll told me he would no longer answer any more of my questions. Leading up to that email was my question about why funds given and reported outside of India didn’t show up in Indian records. Specifically at that time, I asked about the funds (15 million Canadian dollars) declared in Canada as being sent to India in 2013 but never reported as being contributed from a foreign source as required by Indian law (I later wrote about that discrepancy). My email from May 5 was as follows:

David – I have reviewed some information available to Canadians regarding charities. In the year most recently available, filings with the Canadian govt. show 15million to India.
In the same year in India, govt forms show nothing came in from Canada.
Can you account for this discrepancy? I intend to write about this tomorrow afternoon.
Thank you, Warren

On May 6, Carroll wrote back:

Good morning, Mr. Throckmorton,
The Canadian funds were combined with U.S. funds by our auditor in India for various accounting reasons. There is no requirement that they be reported separately.
Thank you.
David

That same day, I wrote back with follow up questions and a request for information.

David – Can you provide contact information for your auditor in India? This combination of funds appears to be in violation of Canadian law, and possibly Indian law, according to my sources. I would like to understand the auditor’s rationale for believing there is no rationale for these sources to be reported separately.
Thanks, Warren

On May 7, Carroll cut off contact.

Warren,
No, Gospel for Asia has not violated the law.
When you first contacted us, I mentioned that we would not be able to respond to every question you put before us. Now, with the increased volume and frequency of your questions, it has become clear that this back and forth has become a distraction from our mission work. For this reason, this will be my final response. We understand that you will continue to explore issues around Gospel for Asia and continue to be fed accusations from former employees, and we accept that.
We continue to remain accountable to all applicable laws and regulations, to the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability and to independent auditors.
Sincerely,
David

In my post on the Canadian funds, I made sure GFA’s position was included. I would have included more if GFA had provided it. Instead I got my hand smacked and was sent to time out.
I have written GFA several times since then. I have addressed correspondence to Carroll, John Beers, and K.P. Yohannan. I have sent some of the emails to the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. No answers.
In light of my efforts to get answers from GFA, imagine my surprise when I heard from former donors that GFA is saying they tried to work with me but have been advised by their financial consultants (?) not to talk to me. I wrote David Carroll yesterday to ask him if GFA reps are telling donors that GFA tried to work with me. Apparently still taking his financial consultants’ advise, there has been no reply.
GFA, according to several former donors, you are telling them that the reason you can’t disclose answers to the question posed here is because I am asking about funds going to high risk areas for persecution.  We both know that isn’t a plausible answer since no identities or activities would be disclosed by answers to the questions I have asked.
GFA, if you are telling donors that you have tried to work with me, please stop. We both know better. I am willing to look at any new information you provide. You know it isn’t just me asking these questions. Pastors are asking, donors are asking, staff are asking, former staff are asking. If you really want to work with me, you have my contact information.
The following issues would be a good start:

Indian Newspaper: Gospel for Asia and Believers' Church Threaten Newspaper, Claim Defamation of the Metropolitan

This seems like an odd way to evangelize.
I can’t read the Malayalam but the English indicates that GFA-India and Believers’ Church are threatening (or have filed, I can’t tell for sure) a defamation suit against a paper in Kerala India (“Breaking News Weekly”). If this is accurate, GFA-India and Believers’ Church are demanding $15.7 million for defamation which includes calling K.P. Yohannan by his name instead of referring to him as Metropolitan Bishop.
I am seeking a translation but for now here is the “legal notice” according to the paper.
 
Defamation suit1
Defamation suit2
Note that the letter says calling K.P. Yohannan by his name is defamation. He apparently is to be addressed as Metropolitan Bishop. The next two pages pull out Malayalam passages from the paper which GFA/Believers’ Church believe to be defamation. Here is page three and four. Page five is below.
Defamation suit3 Defamation suit4 Defamation suit5
This is all that was provided by the Indian newspaper. The amount demanded in U.S. dollars is $15.7 million (100 Crores). The lawyer wants that sum in 7 days.
If this is true, it won’t be the first time GFA/Believers Church have sued in India. You can use this website to read cases where GFA has been sued and has sued various parties in India.