A major complaint filed by the Legal Rights Protection Forum (LRPF) has urged the Union Home Ministry to investigate a sprawling evangelical network allegedly operating in Bharat in violation of visa and charity laws. The complaint accuses foreign nationals linked to the global Christ Embassy (Believers’ Loveworld) network of carrying out religious propagation and fundraising activities under the guise of business, media, and charitable operations.
According to the LRPF’s detailed representation, foreign nationals associated with Believers Loveworld Trust, Pune, have been organising and promoting a large-scale event titled “Christian Leaders and Higher Life Conference” scheduled between 25–27 November 2025 at the Lal Bahadur Stadium, Hyderabad. The programme, featuring Nigerian preacher Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, is being advertised as a conference for Christian leaders and workers across India, with registration fees of Rs 2,000 per participant and donation appeals on its official site.
The forum contends that such large-scale fundraising and proselytising activities by foreign nationals breach Indian visa provisions and the Foreigners Act, 1946, which strictly prohibit foreigners from engaging in religious or evangelical work.
Shell Structures and Dubious Registrations
The LRPF submission reveals that Believers Loveworld Trust, registered in Pune in 2017, lists only one office-bearer, Ms Glory Chiwetal Mokeme, a foreign national, on the NGO Darpan portal. The trust’s registration address is incomplete, while its Axis Bank account in Kalyani Nagar, Pune, has reportedly been used for donations and event-related financial transactions.
A connected entity, LoveWorld India Broadcasting Network Private Limited, registered under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, lists three directors, Ms Ose Oyakhilome, Ms Chiwetal Mokeme, and Mr Isaac Agarwal Shyam. Two of them are foreign nationals linked to the Christ Embassy global church headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. The firm’s own website, openly declares its mission as “impacting India and Asia with the gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”
LRPF argues that these multiple entities, trusts, companies, and non-profits, have been set up to bypass Indian legal restrictions and to continue evangelical activities “under the garb of media, business, and charity.”
Network with Global Links
The complaint also names Ms Ose Oyakhilome, wife of Pastor Ken Oyakhilome (brother of Pastor Chris Oyakhilome), and Ms Glory Chiwetal Mokeme, reportedly the spouse of evangelist Pastor Chuks Mokeme, both of whom are foreign nationals engaged in religious activities across India.
The LRPF points out that their corporate roles and familial ties to senior Christ Embassy leaders indicate a coordinated transnational evangelical operation, allegedly supported by Western religious entities and media networks.
Legal Violations Alleged
The complaint invokes Section 14B of the Foreigners Act, 1946, highlighting that Indian law prohibits foreigners from participating in religious conversions or proselytising while on business or tourist visas. The LRPF cites a recent precedent, the arrest of American national James Watson in Maharashtra for engaging in evangelical activity while on a business visa, as a comparable violation.
The LPRF has requested that the MHA immediately verify the visa categories of Pastor Chris Oyakhilome and other foreign nationals and initiate criminal and administrative proceedings if found in breach of visa or charity laws. It also called for the involvement of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to probe possible FCRA violations and financial irregularities connected to donations raised through church-linked events.
A.S. Santosh, General Secretary of the LRPF, speaking to Organiser, said that this network reveals a “deliberate concealment of evangelical intent under secular designations such as corporate entities, media ventures, and hospitality firms, many of which list the same individuals as directors. These acts show blatant disregard for Indian laws and make a mockery of the system, undermining public trust in all foreign nationals working here.”
