Judgment handed down by Court of Appeal in legal challenge to Charity Commission inquiry opened in 2014

by OrphanCrow 35 Replies latest watchtower scandals

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  DATA-DOG

  I'm surprised the WTBTS is even considered a Charity. Growing up as a dub I never did one damn thing for the community. NOT ONE.

  Charity was a waste of time. After all, the End was nigh! Why do anything but go D2D, and by that I mean, drive around and get coffee!! J-dumbs still feel that charity is a waste of time. "Just send Ol' Fat F*** Sanderson your money! It will go where it's needed!", say the J-dumbs. ( Seriously, have you seen how fat that dude is!! Way to set the example, Lard Ass...)

  I wonder if there is a way to average how many people are helped by real Charities? For instance, how many people were saved from malnutrition last year, or from starvation? How many were helped to keep healthy by having clean water and clothing? Can we extrapolate how many people the WTBTS could have helped over the past 120 years?

  What if the Big A doesn't arrive for 10-20-50 years?? ( Yeah, I Know....) Can the GB really justify not even attempting to help their fellow man? Wouldn't centers for helping anyone and everyone, built by, and operated by J-dumbs be an awesome witness?? The R&F would LOVE to help other people. Just think of the break from failed-circus that working at a shelter would create! Hell, they could still count time... They may even make some converts! It's a win/win, but the GB are too damn deluded and friggin fat to do anything but rant about yoga pants while fighting mandatory reporting laws with dedicated funds.

  Jesus must be really proud......

  DD
• 

  Slidin Fast

  I can see the Chelmsford bethel getting smaller as we speak. There maybe a garden shed erected at some point. Maybe! If the money can be found. I really think that this may be the straw that decides the size and scope of the project.
• 

  OrphanCrow

  I think that the Watchtower is going to have a lot of explaining to do. And, I also think that the Watchtower has been preparing for this investigation for a while.

  Another thread some time back discussed Britain WT financial statements and there is some interesting information in them.

  The financial statements are linked on this thread:

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/6570610863898624/charity-does-engage-fund-raising

  I have taken some information from the returns, just picking out some key points. Lots of blah blah blah to get through. I will select some tidbits to share that I found interesting.

  This is from the 2013 report:

  Wider network
  Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Britain (the Society) works closely with International Bible Students Association (IBSA), which provides it with serviced facilities for its charitable activities. The Society has also continued to work closely with a charity in Germany. Other charities with similar objects exist in many countries around the world.

  And what the WT does for grant making (giving money away):

  Grantmaking
  The charity's grant making policy is as follows: From time to time the charity is asked by the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses to consider helping Jehovah's Witnesses in countries where a need exists.

  And how they define their charitable activities and how much they spent in 2013 on 'charity':

  Charitable activities - Making donations to further religious education overseas
  During the year the charity continued to provide material and financial assistance to associations of Jehovah's Witnesses in several countries. The aid, over £15m in total, was given to promote missionary activity, to support general costs of the local association, and to assist in the operation of local congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses. Additionally, literature with a value of over £3.2m was donated overseas, mainly to Africa, for use in advancing religious education.

  This is interesting and would require some skill to turn a profit simply by the transferring of funds between countries:

  Foreign exchange gains and losses
  Foreign currency balances have been translated at the prevailing rate on the balance sheet date. Income and expenditures during the year have been translated at the prevailing rate on the day of the transaction. Gains and losses arise when foreign currency assets change in value between their purchase and the balance sheet date.

  And how does the WT decide where to send the money and to who?

  Grants payable
  Grants payable to other institutions are recognized at the point when their payment has been approved by the trustees.

  Lots of numbers to wade through but this is what I picked out:

  VOLUNTARY INCOME
  

  Grants 2013: £5,530,547

  2012: £12,139,311

  
  

  OTHER INCOMING RESOURCES
  

  Foreign currency gains 2013: £1,304,694

  2012: £291,959

  
  

  Moving along to the 2014 return...the blah blah blah is much the same with new numbers inserted.

  
  

  Charitable activities - making donations to further religious education overseas During the year the charity continued to provide material and financial assistance to associations of Jehovah's Witnesses in several countries. The aid, over £12.8m in total, was given to promote missionary activity, to support general costs of the local association, and to assist in the operation of local congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses. Additionally, literature with a value of over £5.6m was donated overseas, mainly to Africa, for use in advancing religious education.

  A large decrease of cash etc coming in (over 5 million less coming in for 2014):

  VOLUNTARY INCOME
  Grants 2104: £137,503

  2013: £5,530,547

  But...zero income from foreign currency gains. Dropped dramatically from 2013 when that was over a million. The money market and money movement between countries changed sharply:

  OTHER INCOMING RESOURCES

  Foreign currency gains 2014: £0
  

  2013: £1,304,694

  So, in 2014, where did the money move and how much?

  During the year, grants paid to institutions with congruous objectives can be analysed as follows:
  By continent:
  Europe: £17,100,718 (mostly cash of £16,506,664)

  And the year before...in 2013? How much went to Europe?

  2013
  Europe: £621,747

  In 2014, the WT moved £16,478,971 more than they had the year previous to Europe. Where in Europe?

  GRANTS PAYABLE

  Material grants (in the context of grant-making) were made to the following institutions:

  Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society of South Africa
  Watch Tower Society of Jehovah's Witnesses, Nigeria
  Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, Ghana
  Jehovas Zeugen, Germany
  Association Chretienne Les Temoins De Jehovah, Cameroon

  The 2013 report mentions Europe but it does not include the German branch in the list.

  In 2014, the UK Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society increased the movement of money and donations to the German branch by close to 17 million pounds. They stripped the Britain branch of cash assets - the same as it appears they may have done in Canada. In this case, they moved the bulk of it to Germany, reducing the money they sent to Africa, etc. in the years previously.

  I think that the WT has been battening down the hatches for the past few years. I hope they get their asses spanked. In jail. For fraudulent activity.
• 

  pepperheart

  this is really good and i think it will get even better
  
• 

  OrphanCrow

  wannaexit: What does this mean exactly for Watchtower???

  The Watchtower lost ground.

  Another brick in the wall came down. The Charity Commission will move ahead with their investigation into them.

  But. It is not over and there is a diversion. The document seizures have to be handled through another system. The Watchtower is still trying to block access to information and the access is yet to come.

  I believe that it will happen.

  Brick by brick. Windows are opening. The Tower will be looked at. Closely.

  And they will not like it.
• 

  OrphanCrow

  This is a really good article that gives the details of what has happened in court.

  Frank Cranmer, "Jehovah’s Witnesses back in court – Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society" in Law & Religion UK, 15 March 2016,http://www.lawandreligionuk.com/2016/03/15/jehovahs-witnesses-back-in-court-watch-tower-bible-tract-society

  Another instalment in the long-running dispute between the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Charity Commission…
  In Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society of Britain & Ors v The Charity Commission[2016] EWCA Civ 154 the Court of Appeal has held that the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Britain (WT) may apply for a judicial review of the Charity Commission’s Production Order that it disclose sensitive documents as part of the statutory inquiry but dismissed an application by Watch Tower for review of the Commission’s decision to open an inquiry into the charity.

  Read more at link...
• 

  OrphanCrow

  And another article:

  Jehovah’s Witness charity loses appeal against Commission inquiry

  
  David Ainsworth | 15 Mar 2016
  The UK’s leading Jehovah’s Witness charity has lost an appeal for a judicial review of a Charity Commission inquiry into its safeguarding procedures, but won a review of a Commission order to produce documents.
  The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Britain sought a judicial review of a decision in 2014 to open a statutory inquiry into its safeguarding policies for children and adults at risk. The inquiry was opened followed allegations that a congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses had allowed a paedophile to question his victims as a “disfellowship” meeting.
  The charity also sought a review of a Commission order requiring it to produce, among other things, “All documents created on or after 1 June 2011 setting out or recording an instance or allegation of, or complaint about, abuse of or by a person who is or has been a member of the charity or a congregation charity”.
  The case was heard in February in the Court of Appeal by Lord John Dyson, the Master of the Rolls – the second most senior judge in England and Wales – sitting with Lord Justice Richard McCombe and Lord Justice David Richards.
  The three judges unanimously ruled against the appeal in the case of the statutory inquiry, saying that the Charity Tribunal was the proper place to hear a challenge.
  However they allowed a review of the production order, because the wording of the Charities Act 2011 limits the tribunals’ ability to hear such challenges.
  A Charity Commission spokesman said: “The Commission is pleased that the court unanimously dismissed Watch Tower’s challenge to the Commission’s decision to open an inquiry. This is a significant decision allowing the Commission’s inquiry to continue to progress. The challenge was dismissed because the court accepted the Commission’s argument that the First-tier Tribunal (Charity) was the correct place to hear Watch Tower’s challenge to the inquiry opened by the Commission. The Commission believes that the specialist Tribunal is the right venue for such cases and is pleased that the Court of Appeal has confirmed this.
  “The Commission is disappointed that the Court of Appeal found in favour of Watch Tower in one respect, deciding that the challenge to the Commission’s order seeking documents from the charity should be heard by the Administrative Court rather than the Tribunal. This decision was reached because of the specific wording of section 320 of the Charities Act 2011, which limits the Tribunal’s jurisdiction to hear challenges to such orders.”

  
  
  
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  Joe Grundy

  "It encourages people who have been affected by safeguarding in congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses in England and Wales to make contact with the inquiry lead investigator Jonathan Sanders at [email protected]."

  I'd just like to repeat this bit of the quote in OP for emphasis.
  
• 

  smiddy

  Well we can only hope for Justice , can`t we ? The trouble is secular authorities seem very reluctant to prosecute religious institutions , no matter how questionable their practices are .

  We can only hope things / attitudes have changed .

  smiddy
• 

  cofty

  The Watchtower are objecting that ...

  • the proposal that the appellants’ Safeguarding Policy include a condition that any elder running a Bible class had to be cleared through an appropriate checking system similar to the Disclosure and Barring Service was unlawful and/or impossible for the appellants to implement;

  
  

  I think this development is inevitable. Every other charity organisation in the UK who works with children has mandatory DBS checks for volunteers. It is outrageous that the Watchtower gets away with ignoring basic child welfare procedures.

  You can only imagine the implications of every elder - and possibly MS - being made to have a criminal records check. How many thousands would just resign rather than reveal their past?