Court closes fraud case against pastor of Adelaja's Sect
Serhiy Lardugin was accused of fraud amounting to 3.6 million hryvnias.
The Railway District Court of Lviv has closed the case against Serhiy Lardugin, pastor of the "Embassy of God" sect, who was suspected of fraud and money laundering, reports Zahid.net.
The case was closed due to the statute of limitations, which expired in August 2023. It was reported that Lardugin was one of four leaders of Sandei Adelaja's sect, and they defrauded Lviv residents of 3.6 million hryvnias during 2007-2008. They promised to teach parishioners how to get rich, convincing people to take out loans, mortgage their homes, and invest money in the "Embassy of God".
The defense team filed a motion to close the case because the statute of limitations expired on August 26, 2023. They noted that the accused had not been hiding from the court and had been in military service from May 26, 2022, to September 11, 2023. The prosecutor did not object, but one of the victims disagreed with the motion in court, stating that Serhiy Lardugin had not compensated her for her losses. The decision of the Railway District Court can be appealed.
As reported by the UOJ, in 2016, the Council of Christian Evangelical Churches of Ukraine condemned the anti-Christian activities of Sandei Adelaja.
