A serious crisis is brewing in the Diocese of Lahore of the Anglican Church of Pakistan after four directors of the Lahore Diocesan Trust Association (LDTA), which oversees missionary properties worth billions of rupees in Pakistan, moved the high court in Punjab Province alleging financial corruption and fraudulent practices in the organisation.
In an apparent retaliatory move, the Bishop of Lahore Rt Reverend Nadeem Kamran has issued the transfer order of one of the four petitioners to a rural district, resulting in a standoff between the two sides.
The allegations surfaced in a petition filed in the Lahore High Court by LDTA Director and Vice President of the Diocesan Council of the Diocese of Lahore Rev Emmanuel Lorraine, Rev Irshad John, Rev Samuel Barkat and Dr Zeerak Asher Samuel under Sections 286 and 287 of the Companies Act 2017, seeking interim injunction and appointment of an administrator to supervise the affairs of the LDTA.
The Lahore High Court admitted the petition for a hearing on July 22 and issued notices to the respondents, including LDTA Treasurer Wilson Massey and the Registrar of the Joint Stock Companies (JSC) for October 7, 2024.
The petition, which has been reviewed by Christian Daily International, states that the LDTA was established to hold and manage the properties previously managed by the Missionary Trust Association Limited.
Before the Partition of India in 1947, the Church Missionary Society for Africa and the East owned several properties in what now constitutes Pakistan. The Lahore Diocese Trust Association was incorporated in 1942 and all 67 properties owned by Church Missionary Society for Africa and Asia and Missionary Trust Association Limited were transferred to the LDTA through a transfer deed on April 12, 1956, the petition states.
“The objectives of the LDTA were to maintain the amenities for the Christian community, including schools, hospitals, burial grounds, churchyards, chapels, boarding houses, stipends for clergy as well as pension and provident funds for families and widows.”
Accusing the LDTA management of conducting the organizational affairs in a “deceitful manner” and in violation of its Articles of Association, the petitioners have alleged that no annual general meeting of the LDTA had been held in the last 20 years and the members, including the petitioners, have been kept in the dark about the utilisation of the income generated from the church properties, among other issues.
“It is apprehended that the LDTA creates sham documents of such meetings and submits them to the Registrar JSC [at the time of annual filings for renewal of registration with the authority],” they claimed.
The petitioners have also alleged that rather than being duly elected, the executive committee of the LDTA is handpicked, which was a violation of Clause 8 of the Articles of Association pertaining to the conduct of elections. They have also questioned the appointment of the same auditor since 1984, accusing him of conniving with the LDTA management to conceal the alleged fraudulent activities.
“Only few of the properties generating rental income are mentioned in the audit reports while there’s no mention of the total number of properties and their status. Moreover, the rental income of these properties is way less than the current market rates,” the petitioners said.
They have also questioned the exorbitant salaries of two unnamed directors amounting to 7.2 million Pakistani Rupees [26,000 USD], adding that the appointment and salaries of these directors were fixed without consulting the general body members.
Furthermore, the petitioners accuse the executive committee of financial misappropriation in the term deposit receipts (TDRs) amounting to 38 million Pakistani Rupees [136,740 USD].
“The audited accounts of LDTA do not state where the amount obtained from the encashment of the TDRs was utilized,” they said.
Putting the spotlight on LDTA Treasurer Wilson Massey, the petitioners went on to allege that Massey had a “monopoly” over the affairs of the LDTA for years.
“The secretary of the LDTA passed away on December 15, 2022, and the position has been lying vacant ever since. Similarly, the term of the chairman, former Bishop of Lahore Irfan Jameel expired after his retirement on August 1, 2022, but to date the position has not been filled yet he continues to be a signatory to the bank accounts. For years the affairs of the LDTA are being run by its treasurer, Wilson Massey, alone.
“When no executive committee practically exists in the absence of the secretary and chairman and no annual meeting of the general body is held for years, the treasurer has a monopoly over the affairs of the LDTA resulting into conduct of such affairs in fraudulent manner. Furthermore, the Articles of Association of LDTA do not provide anywhere that the treasurer can solely exercise powers to operate affairs of the organization,” the petitioners said.
The petition further expressed alarm over the increase in assets of the treasurer, saying that despite bringing the alleged fraudulent activities in the LDTA to the attention of the community and the respective authority, their concerns remained unaddressed.
The petitioners have demanded the high court to direct the LDTA to submit the correct number of properties transferred to it in 1956; submit details of all bank accounts maintained and operated by the LDTA; present all documents depicting arrangement of utilization of the properties; conduct the annual general meeting and share details of officers appointed, salaries paid and income and expenditure of the LDTA with the general body; and organize elections of the executive committee without delay.
The petition concluded with a request to the court to order amendments in the Articles and Memorandum of Association of LDTA to make the executive committee accountable before the general body.
Christian Daily International made repeated attempts to contact LDTA Treasurer Massey for comment on the allegations made in the petition, but he remained unavailable.
A rubber stamp board
Meanwhile, the lead petitioner, Rev Emmanuel Lorraine told Christian Daily International that they felt forced to move the high court in the larger interest of the Christian community.
“Religious organisations are institutions of public trust and church members as well as the community reasonably expect church officials to fulfill their religious calling and apply church funds on religious purposes. However, in LDTA’s case, there is no transparency in its financial matters. The board is only given a quick overview of the financial reports verbally without handing them anything in black and white,” said Rev Lorraine, who has been a member of the Diocese of Lahore for over four decades.
The senior priest alleged that a majority of the LDTA board members were handpicked to ensure that no one questioned the treasurer about the financial matters.
“The board meetings are mere eyewash as no member has ever dared to question the treasurer. Also, several board members are related to the treasurer which in itself is a conflict of interest and hinders financial transparency,” he said.
He also claimed that the management had never presented any document related to rent or lease agreements of LDTA properties or legal matters before the board. “Mr Massey just verbally informs the board about the property matters and that’s it. None of us have ever seen any relevant document,” he claimed.
Elaborating on their accusation of financial misappropriation against the treasurer, the church leader said neither the board nor the diocesan council had information about the approval of the unusually high salary for the treasurer.
“The salaries, perks and incentives of the diocesan bishop, treasurer and the coordinator of the Lahore Diocesan Board of Education (LDBE) have never been discussed in the board or executive council meetings. We don’t know who approves the salaries of these big three,” he added.
Rev Lorraine said that suspicions of financial embezzlement in LDTA surfaced when tax details of the treasurer were leaked on social media in 2023.
“The leaked documents showed that Mr Massey bought multiple expensive properties between 2020-22, while on the other hand, the pensions of clergy were abruptly stopped in 2016-17 citing financial constraints,” he said.
Similar concerns have been raised against the LDTA by four bishops of the Anglican Church of Pakistan in an application filed with the office of the Registrar JSC on Nov 20, 2023.
“After the union of the Church of Pakistan on Nov 1, 1970, the Church of Pakistan was formally declared to be the legal and spiritual heir and successor of each and all of the churches. But fraudulently, with malafide intentions and concealments of facts, the Diocese of Lahore re-registered LDTA with a new constitution vide Registration No. RP/C-82 based on the submission of a photocopy certificate No. 105 of 1942-43 without the approval of the CoP and authority of the predecessors/real owners and excluding the CoP as members and Board of Directors of the LDTA,” the bishops’ complaint stated.
The church leaders alleged that the “illegal and unconstitutional action of the Diocese of Lahore was only carried out to misuse the properties and funds of the LDTA comprising billions of rupees.”
Transfering bishop away from Lahore seen as retaliatory action
In what is perceived as retaliation against one of the four petitioners, the Bishop of the Diocese of Lahore Rev Nadeem Kamran issued a transfer order of Rev Irshad John on July 28.
Rev John is currently serving as the pastor-in-charge and vicar of the Saint Andrews Church, Empress Road in Lahore. He has been ordered to take charge as the vicar of the All Saints Church in Pattoki Tehsil of Kasur District, a rural area about two hours away from the city.
However, the senior priest has refused to accept the transfer, claiming that he was being victimized for demanding transparency and accountability in the LDTA.
“I will not surrender to this order by an illegally-appointed bishop. We hope that the high court will take notice of his malafide and grant me an injunction against it,” he told Christian Daily International.
Rev John said the Diocese of Lahore was already suffering due to the hegemonic attitude of a “handful of people who were destroying the diocesan institutions for their vested interests”.
The diocesan bishop, however, has denied any malice behind the transfer order.
“Such transfers are a matter of routine in every diocese,” Rev Nadeem told Christian Daily International in a short comment. He refused to speak on the allegations made against the LDTA in the petition, asking Christian Daily International to contact the treasurer. When told that the treasurer was not responding to requests for an interview, the bishop cut the line.
'Illegal' and 'unconstitutional' election remains under review
Rev Kamran’s controversial election and subsequent consecration as the Bishop of the Diocese of Lahore on January 17, 2023, by three retired bishops of the Church of Pakistan is under litigation in the Lahore High Court.
On Aug 18, 2023, Lahore High Court Justice Raheel Kamran dismissed a petition filed by the Diocese of Lahore challenging the order of the Registrar Joint Stock Companies, Lahore wherein it had declared the election of Rev Nadeem Kamran as Bishop of Lahore “illegal” and “unconstitutional”.
The Diocese of Lahore has filed an intra-court appeal in the Lahore High Court but the matter is pending to date. While Rev Nadeem is continuing to work as the Bishop of Lahore and in this capacity is also ex officio the chairman of the LDTA, the signatory authority in LDTA continues to remain with his predecessor, former Bishop Irfan Jameel.
The Synod of the Church of Pakistan refused to accept the election of Rev Kamran from the onset. This standoff has isolated the diocese from the other seven dioceses – Diocese of Peshawar, Diocese of Multan, Diocese of Sialkot, Diocese of Karachi & Balochistan, Diocese of Hyderabad, Diocese of Faisalabad and Diocese of Raiwand.
The Synod, which is the supreme legislative body of the Church of Pakistan, believes that certain individuals in the Diocese of Lahore had conducted the bishop’s election in violation of the constitution and rules of the Church of Pakistan to perpetuate their hold over the LDTA.
The Church of Pakistan is among the 42 members of the global Anglican Communion but is considered as an independent province. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, recognised as primus inter pares ("first among equals"), but does not exercise authority in Anglican provinces outside of the Church of England.
