UPI: Special prosecutor begins probe into Unification Church executives
Included are allegations of bribery via a religious intermediary, embezzlement of church funds for casino gambling and interference in law enforcement.
"South Korea's special prosecutor has formally designated Hak‑ja Han, head of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, popularly known as the Unification Church, as a criminal suspect.
The office is extending its investigation to include allegations of bribery via a religious intermediary, embezzlement of church funds for casino gambling and interference in law enforcement.
Prosecutors allege that luxury goods -- including designer handbags and diamond jewelry -- were acquired to be given to the former First Lady Keon‑hee Kim, wife of the recently impeached former President Suk-yeol Yoon.
The items had been transferred through Seong‑bae Jeon, known as "Geonjin Beopsa," a spiritual adviser to the church. Investigators are working to establish whether directives came from senior church officials and if funds were misused for political influence.
The special prosecutor's office has announced that summonses will be issued soon to several senior Unification Church executives."
Sky News: Red House: 62 people now say they experienced abuse at children's home run by a 'cult'
"The home was run by the Tvind School Cooperative of Denmark. A controversial group founded in the late 1960s, they opened around 30 radical schools in Denmark, mostly for disadvantaged children, and two in England."
Daily Mail: Constance Marten's 'life was ruined' by joining a Nigerian religious cult that beat women with horsewhips and whose leader required followers to call him 'daddy'
" ... The cult was called SCOAN (The Synagogue Church of All Nations) and its leader, TB Joshua, targeted the UK for new, wealthy recruits by infiltrating Evangelical churches in the south of England.
Through her connections to one of these churches, Constance's mother, Virginia, was persuaded to travel to Nigeria with her daughter to the sect's compound in 2006.
Virginia believed TB Joshua, who styled himself in internet videos as a miracle healer, could rid her daughter of her 'rebellious spirits'.
Speaking to Trial Plus hosts Caroline Cheetham and Jack Hardy, author Matthew McNaught, who wrote a book about the cult and its abuse of British recruits, described how SCOAN operated and how Marten became affiliated with it.
'Some church members came across this ministry in Nigeria – there were videos being sent around for publicity. They were incredibly graphic, very dramatic videos showing seemingly incredible things.
'I was very sceptical of TB Joshua from the start – the videos were so extreme and gross. You would see sores and bare breasts, gore and nudity that was incredibly hard to watch.
'As soon as people started becoming disciples – their personalities began to change. They withdrew from old friendships and people within my church started to become suspicious.
'Constance was in Lagos for six months. She got in contact with me in 2013 after I wrote a blog detailing TB Joshua's abuse. Her experience was the same as many others I had spoken too."
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