Kiyo: Secret documents link
family and associates of one of Africa’s most popular pastors, Nigerian
televangelist the Rev. Chris Oyakhilome, to an offshore company in the British
Virgin Islands.
A
business associate of the pastor says some directors in the company held shares
on behalf of the pastor’s daughters, Sharon and Charlyn, who are now teenagers.
The
company in question is Gmobile Nigeria Limited, an offshore firm incorporated
in 2007 in a Caribbean tax haven, the British Virgin Islands, according to a
cache of documents reviewed by Premium Times and the International Consortium
of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). The shareholders listed in the documents
include Oyakhilome’s wife, Anita; another pastor in his organization, Thomas
Amenkhienan; a business associate, Aigobomian Inegbedion; and another British
Virgin Islands’ company, GTMT International Group Limited.
Filo: Also, documents
reviewed by ICIJ and Premium Times show that Anita Oyakhihome held 17, 750 of
Gmobile’s 50,000 shares, with Amenkhienan owning 1,500 and Inegbedion 750. The
fourth shareholder, GTMT International, also a British Virgin Islands’ company,
owned by South African investors, held 30,000 shares.
The
documents show that some of these individuals held shares in trust for two
minors. The records don’t identify the minors, but Inegbedion confirmed that
the minors referred to in the documents were the Oyakhilomes’ daughters,
quickly adding that there was nothing wrong with that.
“Their
parents bought the shares for them because they have rights to own shares,” Mr.
Inegbedion said. “A day-old child has a right to own shares in companies.” He
declined to say which of Gmobile directors held shares in trust for the girls.
Kiyo: The issue I see
here is the clandestine nature of floating the company and the element of
ambiguity with respect to the shareholders, what do you think?
