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Did Prophet Bushiri Launder Another R102 Million?

The Hawks have arrested a religious figure, Shepard Bushiri and 3 others over accusations of running a property scam and laundering millions of Rand.

Mr Shepard Bushiri identifies himself as a prophet and is the leader of the Enlightened Christian Gathering Church (ECG for short). He is known as Africa’s wealthiest pastor. He has also been dogged by scandal over time, mostly to do with accusations of financial misconduct.

Arrested

This week the Hawks arrested the paster over accusations of laundering over R102 Million through investments in a company called Rising Estate. Trouble began when the investment company did not pay church members and investors in time (kind of how a Ponzi Scheme begins to fall apart).

‘the Hawks arrested the paster over accusations of laundering over R102 Million through investments in a company called Rising Estate’

Three others were also arrested including the Pastor’s wife on the same day and Mr & Mrs Mudolo who were rounded up days before. The other couple were arrested at OR Tambo airport before they could board a flight. There are even reports of the Pastor also trying to avoid arrest and trying to make a getaway before ultimately turning himself in.

Other Cases Against The Paster

This is not the only criminal case the pastor currently faces and he is already accused of laundering other funds in a similar but different case brought by the state last month and he still faces other legal action underway since February 2019 (over R15 million – which now seems small in the face of current accusations).

The Pastor had to appear at the Specialised Commercial Crime Court in Pretoria this week to face charges. Bail hearings will follow at the end of the month. The church is saying that the accusations and legal case is part of a war on the church and Prophet.