Former Lighthouse pastor sentenced to jail in Madagascar for car theft

Pastor Larry Odonkor, previously affiliated with Lighthouse Chapel International (LCI), has been sentenced to two years in prison by a Court of Appeal in Madagascar for his involvement in fraudulent activities.

These activities included the fraudulent sale of the church's vehicle and embezzlement of the proceeds.

According to documents obtained by the Ghana News Agency, the court also ruled that Larry Odonkor must reimburse the church for the value of the stolen vehicle, which is estimated to be around GHC200,000.

In a default judgment, the court found Pastor Odonkor guilty of fraudulent breach of trust, stating that he had "embezzled or dissipated" various sums of money that belonged to Madagascar LCI, to the detriment of the church.

The GNA-reported documents revealed that LCI had filed multiple complaints against Pastor Odonkor, including charges of fraudulent breach of trust, money laundering, theft, and defrauding by false pretenses.

The prosecution's case argued that Pastor Odonkor served as the head pastor of LCI-Madagascar until December 2019, when he relocated to Accra.

It was during this transition that the church's official vehicle assigned to him while in Madagascar went missing.

Upon investigation, it was discovered that Pastor Odonkor had instructed three individuals to help him sell the car before leaving Madagascar.

One of these individuals was his assistant pastor, Edmund Amartey, who was unaware that the car did not belong to Pastor Odonkor.

Pastor Amartey subsequently sold the car and handed over all the proceeds to him.

The prosecution presented WhatsApp chat screenshots between Pastor Odonkor and Pastor Amartey as evidence, demonstrating that Odonkor had instructed his assistant to sell the car and send him all the proceeds from the sale.

Additionally, WhatsApp conversations between Pastor Odonkor and an administrator of LCIGhana were submitted as part of the prosecution's evidence.

The prosecution alleged that Pastor Odonkor had also found a covert way to receive a portion of the sale proceeds in Accra through an administrator of LCI-Ghana without disclosing the illicit source of the funds, leading to charges of money laundering.

Although the church did not file a complaint against Pastor Edmund, the court decided to include him as a co-accused due to his role in the car sale.

However, he was later acquitted and discharged by the court, as it became clear that he had innocently assisted Pastor Odonkor in selling the vehicle and had not personally benefited from the sale.

In his defense, Pastor Edmund provided a written apology from Larry Odonkor after challenging him for falsely accusing him in a publication of selling the car without disclosing the whereabouts of the money.

Pastor Edmund produced all the WhatsApp chats as evidence to refute these claims.

The article also mentions that LCI-Madagascar has been informed that Pastor Odonkor, who was sentenced in absentia, has filed an appeal against the court's decision.

However, to contest the judgment, he must appear in person in Madagascar. Additionally, an arrest warrant has been issued for Pastor Odonkor, enabling his arrest if he enters Madagascar's territory.

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