BY Ruwani Fonseka

The Miracle Dome, owned by Prophet Jerome Fernando, is still incomplete and more donations are needed to complete the church, says The Glorious Church Board Member Gratien Gunawardena.

He made this statement while speaking to The Morning.

"The Miracle Dome is still incomplete and we need more donations. Uebert Angel has not donated a cent, not a single cent. He has not donated any dollars either. I know this because I am a board member and if Angel has donated any funds I would know. The Dome was built solely by foreign donations and donations received by the congregation," said Gunawardena.

When Gunawardena was questioned as to his affiliation with Uebert Angel, he denied having known Angel closely. 

"I met Uebert Angel only once. This was during the inauguration of The Miracle Dome. We only exchanged a simple Hello and that's about it. I have no idea about anything else," said Gunawardena.

When questioned if Jerome Fernando was not aware of Uebert Angel's criminal past of Financial crimes, Gunawardena noted that he was unaware of anything. 

"I don't know. I don't think so (even) Prophet Jerome Fernando is aware. I donated the land to God to build the Miracle Dome. Have you seen the signs and wonders happening in that church?," He said. 

When further questioned whether Gunawardena used his close ally Mahinda Rajapaksa for immunity, Gunawardena denied all allegations.

"I have not met Mahinda Rajapaksa in over 5 years. He is my classmate but maybe I have met him about 2 or 3 times in the last few years. We have no reason to use political influence," Gunawardena stated.

Former President's wife, Shiranthi Rajapaksa, was a close follower of Jerome Fernando and it was reported that Uebert Angel and Jerome also had met with members of the Rajapaksa family during preaching sessions with Jerome and were given military protection under the Rajapaksa administration.

Additionally, it had been reported previously that Gunawardena used his influence with Mahinda Rajapaksa to issue a visa for Uebert Angel, who was denied entry into Sri Lanka by the UK foreign mission, and upon arrival into Sri Lanka, Angel, along with Jerome Fernando, met with the former President Rajapaksa at the home of Kushal Perera, who is Fernando's close confidante and the son in law of Gratien Gunawardena.

Attempts to contact members of the Rajapaksa family has proved futile.

Allegations have been posed against the self proclaimed 'Prophet' Jerome Fernando for unaccountability of funds collected within the church from the congregation and living an extravagant lifestyle with luxury vehicles, bodyguards, dressing in luxury brands such as Tom Ford and Gucci, while encouraging parishioners to 'sow into the church sacrificially'.

Ex members of the church and donors have stated that the Glorious Church has failed to provide receipts for large donations and this is only to evade tax to the government.

"Anyone can have accusations, but we are audited by KPMG and our lawyers are De Saram Law chambers. Anyways, who cares about all this. The public doesn't care. No one cares about these allegations. No one is bothered," Gunawardena said. 

Meanwhile, A British member of the House of Lords, Lord Oates, has raised questions seeking to know what the UK government intends to do following allegations of gold smuggling and money laundering made against Zimbabwe government official, self-styled prophet Uebert Angel, who also holds British citizenship.

Lord Oates questioned His Majesty’s government what assessment they have made of allegations of corruption and money laundering contained in the Al Jazeera documentary Gold Mafia, and what steps, if any, they will take to freeze assets held in the UK or dependent territories by those who have been (1) alleged to have engaged in (2) found guilty of engaging in financial crime.

Uebert Angel was exposed by foreign media, Al Jazeera, last month for money laundering and gold smuggling using his diplomatic status in Zimbabwe. 

Angel has been accused of financial fraud, sexual misconduct, rape and has several warrants issued against him. Congregants have also accused Angel of having extra-marital affairs with married woman in the congregation. 

Prophet Jerome Fernando who claims to be a prophet and also the spiritual son of Angel, was appointed by Uebert Angel to head the Glorius Church in Sri Lanka, denied allegations and threatened legal action against accusers. 

Further, Gunawardena was questioned into the land that he had gifted Prophet Jerome Fernando and he claimed to have ownership of the land. 

"Yes, the land is mine and I purchased it after taking a loan of Rs 100 million from Commercial Bank. I can send you the deed if you want," he said. 

Whereas, Gunawardena has failed to send the deed copy which would refute the allegations against him despite it having been days since promised. 

The Miracle Dome is situated in Katunayake on a land surface of 4.2 acres and previous reports state that the land was out-written by the Urban Development Authority (UDA) as marshland and sold for an undervalued sum. 

- with inputs from other agencies