BY Ruwani Fonseka

Further to articles published recently by The Morning regarding the affiliation between Prophet Uebert Angel who was recently exposed of money laundering by Al Jazeera Investigative Unit (iUnit) and local Prophet Jerome Fernando, sources close to The Morning have revealed that several financial frauds have been occuring within the church that has not been spoken of openly. 

Speaking to The Morning, Jake Perera, Director at the Fridsro Children's Home in Kandy, revealed that Associate Pastor at The Foundation Church (which is a branch of The Glorious Church) Sanjeev Jayaweera, has previously been taken to court by Fridsro for mismanagement of funds and a coup Jayaweera led while serving as the CEO of the orphanage.

"Jayaweera served as the CEO of Fridsro. My father is Jacob Perera who was the founder of Fridsro along with my Swedish mother. While Jayaweera served as the CEO, we had a death in the family and had to take some leave off to grieve. During this time, we received information that the children's home was being run differently and was running at a loss. We got to know that there were deaths and several complaints from the kids as well. When this happened, we returned back to Sri Lanka, only to find out that Jayaweera, along with an accomplice were trying to take over Fridsro and funds that were to be used for the upkeep of children were not available anymore. We then realised it was a coup to oust my father and myself from the board of directors," said Perera. 

The Fridsro founder and his son, Jake, then took Jayaweera to court, demanding the return of the funds which were not located and attempts were made to recover hold of Fridsro. 

"We never recovered the funds. But we managed to take over Fridsro once again. Honestly, we dropped the case as it was a battle not worth fighting for the funds. They had lawyers and power and they managed. Whereas, our primary focus was to regain hold of Fridsro as the rightful founders and owners. We still talk about what happened, but we cannot do much," he said. 

The Morning had previously reported on this story in 2019, in which it was revealed that just prior to Jayaweera's exit from Fridsro, he had purchased two vehicles, a mini cooper and Suzuki Swift, and the source of the funds was alleged to be from the Fridsro kitty. 

During the coup, many children who resided at Fridsro have revealed and complained to Child Protection Services of them not being taken care of and basic necessities not provided while under the care of Jayaweera, who the children were immensely scared of. 

SaveFridsro was a campaign that was launched by past children from the orphanage, donors and supporters who fought tirelessly to end Jayaweera's work contract at Fridsro and also demanding justice for the children who were treated unfairly. The protestors stood outside courts and demanded for Jayaweera to be removed from the Board of Directors. This circulated widely on social media. 

Attempts to contact Sanjeev Jayaweera by The Morning for a comment have proved futile.

Meanwhile, another source revealed that Associate Pastor at The Glorious Church's Mount Lavinia branch, Andrew Sundersingh, who was previously the CEO of Mimshach (a subsidiary of The Glorious Church) has, in the past, 'taken' funds off the annual bonus of staff who were employed at Mimshach.

"The staff were to get an annual bonus and it was signed off by Jerome. When the salaries were remitted, the actual amounts did not reflect and staff were not satisfied. It was then made known that Andrew, who was the CEO at that time, had taken a portion of the funds which were to be given to staff. Staff members who were to get 25,000 Rupees, received only 5000 Rupees. Even though Jerome was aware, no action was taken," alleged the source. 

When Andrew Sundersingh was contacted by The Morning regarding the allegations posed against him, he did not comment on the matter, and avoided the question by cutting the line. Repeated calls to contact Sundersingh thereafter have proved futile. 

The above allegation was further reiterated by another ex- church member, who stated that Sundersingh has been a close associate of the Prophet since the inception of the church, and action would have not been taken against Sundersingh. 

Prophet Jerome Fernando hit the spotlight on local media when his Spiritual Father Uebert Angel was exposed by Al Jazeera Investigative Unit (iUnit) for money laundering and Gold smuggling. 

Angel, who also was a diplomat of the Zimbabwean Government, held a rank second to only the President of Zimbabwe. 

Questions have arisen amongst citizens post the Uebert Angel Investigation about Prophet Jerome's source of funds, finances and lavish lifestyle, to which the church and family have remained silent. People have also questioned his ethics of appointing people as pastors and senior positions in the church, which, in return, would be unfair to those who have had unpleasant and legal problems.

Despite numerous attempts made to contact Prophet Jerome Fernando or leaders within the ministry, the Prophet has remained mum on the matter and no statement has been issued either. 

**The sources who have revealed the above information have previously held senior positions within the church. They have requested for their identities to be anonymous due to safety reasons.