Treasurer convicted of stealing £222k from Cathedral

A former treasurer of St John the Baptist Cathedral in Norwich, has today (October 23) been sentenced at Norwich Crown Court to 27 months in jail for defrauding the cathedral of just over £222,000, after pleading guilty at an earlier magistrates court hearing.

As soon as the Fraud by Abuse of Position, which spread over a two-year period from April 2016 to May 2018, came to light, the treasurer Rene Mugenzi (whose name and details the court prohibited from being reported until today, October 23), was immediately told to resign from the position.

The cathedral authorities and the Diocese of East Anglia, of which the cathedral is a part, reported the matter to Norfolk Police and have co-operated fully with their subsequent investigation.

The Charities Commission was also informed of a serious incident as soon as it became apparent and have been kept updated regularly.

The Diocese has issued a wholehearted apology to the people of the Cathedral Parish  over the failure of the parish finance committee and other organisations to discover what was a sophisticated, deliberate and calculated fraud of cathedral funds.

Canon David Paul, the Cathedral Dean, said: “We are extremely saddened that such a fraud was committed by someone whom we trusted and put in a position of responsibility. But we are also truly sorry that this has happened and want to offer our apologies to all of those people who have supported the cathedral over the period in question and whose money has not gone to the purposes for which it was intended.

“The Diocese and the Cathedral Parish Finance Committee have now put more robust measures in place to ensure, as far as possible, it will not happen again.

“We have fully reimbursed all third-party charities, where some of the money given to us in second collections was intended to go. All the losses are now against cathedral funds. Fortunately, we have been able to recover some of the funds from our insurers to help mitigate the losses.”

A full investigation has been carried out by the Vicar for Finance, Deacon James Hurst.  He has made far-reaching recommendations for every parish in the Diocese.

The Bishop of East Anglia, Rt Rev Alan Hopes, said: “I am very saddened that this has happened and understand how it could erode people’s trust in the Diocese’s stewardship of their generosity. However, I am confident that with the new structures that are being implemented with regard to finances across the Diocese it will make it more difficult for such an extensive fraud to occur again.”

Pictured above is St John’s Cathedral in Norwich.

Comments