SDA Church members lose millions in a crypto scheme
SDA Church members lose millions in a crypto scheme
The Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) Church has announced a public inquiry into the activities of Crypto-trading where worshippers lost millions after the online platform collapsed.
The collapse of a cryptocurrency and forex trading platform that had been promoted by a senior church leader left thousands of Kenyans reporting financial losses estimated in the millions of shillings.
The platform abruptly became inaccessible after users discovered that the website had disappeared and were redirected to a new platform requiring a registration fee of at least Sh24,000.
Pastor Paul Mwangi, former president of the Central Kenya Conference—which oversees congregations in Nairobi, Kiambu, Machakos, and surrounding counties was among those who revealed that they had lost millions in the scam, even after introducing many church members to the business.
Pastor Mwangi was the executive secretary of the East Kenya Union Conference (EKUC), another administrative unit governing nearly half of the Adventist churches in Kenya and has since stepped aside as investigations into the matter continue.
The cleric said he was introduced to Optcoin by third parties who encouraged him to consolidate investments from other crypto and forex platforms into the platform, later appointing him a regional director for Kenya, a role that made him a visible promoter and led others to join.
In a public notice dated February 26, 2026, the East and Central Africa Division (ECD), the body that oversees the administrative functions of the church in the region, issued notice of a public schedule of the probe.
The ECD will also use the commission to hear and determine an appeal by 19 pastors who were fired over alleged misconduct and formation of an apostasy organisation by the Nakuru-based SDA Central Rift Valley Conference (CRVC).
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The ECD is a division of the Maryland-based General Conference of the SDA church, which is the world headquarters and administrative unit. ECD, based in Rongai, overseas 11 countries in the region.
“The ECD Commission on Opticoin/Wealth Sharing and Central Rift Valley Conference Matters wishes to share its operational guidelines,” the notice reads in part.
The Commission meetings shall be held at the East-Central Africa Division headquarters on Advent Hill, Ongata Rongai, with tomorrow, March 2, 2026, being the orientation by ECD officers and the Commission’s preliminary meeting.
On Tuesday, March 3, 2026, the team will be receiving submissions related to the Opticoin/Wealth Sharing matter from 9 am to 1 pm and from 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm.
On Wednesday, March 4, 2026, the commission will be receiving submissions related to the Central Rift Valley Conference matter from 9 am to 1 pm and from 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm.
The next day, on Thursday, the Commission will hold deliberations and on Friday meet to draft recommendations.
“All submissions shall be made in writing, signed with the submitter’s name and contact telephone number. Submissions should be supported by documented evidence where applicable. For those who may want to send submissions via email, use ogalt@ecd.adventist.org,” Commission Secretary Tom Ogal said.
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