BKWSU (UK) Accounts for 2007 - Just-A-Minute cost £257,149?

From The Charity Commission website or, here, the 2007 Accounts are published, and 2008 accounts will be shortly.

It is unclear but there seems to be something going on with the name;

Brahma KUMANS WORLD SPIRITUAL UNIVERSITY (UK) (Old Name )
WORLD RENEWAL SPIRITUAL TRUST (UK) (Old Name )
BKWSU (Working Name )
Brahma Kumaris (Working Name )

For all the international airfares they spend to flying the Seniors around ... I cannot see any mention of that.

Christopher Drake is off the Trustees list and it looks like there is there is something funny going on with Just-a-Minute.

Its says it cost £ 259,149 to celebrate their 70th Anniversary with JAM (remember, it was the 3 Dadi's gig with Robin Gibb of the Beegees, Ruby Wax et al) whilst they only gave £23,000 to the tsunami aid (and allegedly spent £12,000 on their annual Xmas party pantomime). See also 2006 accounts. That is; a party at Wembley Arena, a website and a promo video?

But then it also says ... "incoming resources ... voluntary donations" for Just-a-Minute were £289,373 for 2006 with an additional £4,586 for 2007.

Money in ... £1,102,020 voluntary donations from approximately 450 follower, £127,228 from the government by way of tax relief and £192,032 from "Investment income".

I also find it hard to believe that they have £263,086 worth of computer equipment!?! Given the price of your average computer at around £500, that would mean 526 PCs for 450 followers!?! (adjust as necessary if you need to budget in all those expensive internet servers for encrypting the streaming videos of mass seances in India and hiding away the Murlis ...).

Can someone else take a look a them? Unfortunately, the law allows them not to have to publish detailed accounts.

Also, their auditors are not "Independent", he is a BK follower or sorts, see BKWSUwatch.com where he says, “I have been a BK was some 15 yeas and folow Maryadas as much as possible as being in the family who cooperate but are not BKs. one has to balance and cannot be complete”.

BKs active in "values education" BKWSU seva, Lynn Henshall and Neil Hawkes, also turn up in the Executive Committee of the Values Education Council of the UK charity, remarkably headed up by 'Humanists'.

"Living Values Education" is listed as "a partnership among educators around the world, supported by UNESCO, sponsored by a wide variety of organisations, institutions and individuals around the world." No mean of the Beakies but get that ole' United Nation reference in there quick, eh?

I realise too ... there is no accounting for the living costs of all the surrendered Brahma Kumaris. Even just to keep them in two rotis, saris and some dahl must cost the BKWSU something ... and we know they eat better than just that. Is that contained in the £104,783 for "governance"? How many surrendered BKs are we talking about and at what rate?

Looking back at the Charity Commission records, it states the charity operates in England and Wales. So who pays for all the international public relationships ... why does UK money go to International service ... and, if we take on board the comments by the concerned BKs recently, the suggestion that UK money is used to prop up service in Germany, or perhaps elsehwere. How much goes back to India either above or below the counter?

I thought it might be useful to correlate these accounts with the accounts for the Janki Foundation 2007, where we see the usual revolving door between it and the BKWSU existing. The two sharing the usual trusted trustees, or ex-trustees, and accountant.

They make interesting reading. Like for all the talk about "Village Outreach Project", all the BKWSU (UK) spends on it is ... £5,425. That is one hell of a good PR value. A couple of million pounds a year to alleviate distress and only £5,000 goes to some genuinely poor and disadvantaged?

The Global Hospital & Research Centre is listed as receiving £7,238, so what does the £76,409 go on "General" projects? Rather contradictorily, the chairman's report states £67,955 was transfered to it. We have read elsewhere on this forum and heard from the likes of Ray Bhatt that the primary benefitees from the GHRC are BKs and it was inspired to provide medical services to the leadership in Abu as no hospital existed for them. In my opinion, that suggests the local community benefit is a bit of a pay off rather than a core intent.

"Cancer care" £250 ... laughable if it was not so tragic. What does £250 buy you?

And who gets the mangement charge of £8,885?

More details please.

Management Charge? Oh c'mon ex-l; smell the rose petals. You know it costs a lot of dinars to host anything these days and there's nothing corrupt about any of it.

Just ask our new presidential wanna-be about all these things, a certain Mr Jacob Zuma. He says nothing is provable and it's all a political conspiracy against him, especially the 843 cases of corruption against him, and that the people want him and he will be the big boss soon and that if you shower after sex with a HIV+ person, you're safe.

So let's hope the judge who will hear the case is not corrupt too. This is going to cost me the taxpayer far more than 250 Quid. Can I ask for a management fee too, you think?

Management Charge? Oh c'mon ex-l; smell the rose petals. You know it costs a lot of dinars to host anything these days and there's nothing corrupt about any of it.

Plese don't let me distract from a closer analysis of these accounts, but for £250,000, you could have probably hired U2 and The Rolling Stones ... or pick any mega-stars you want ... and then just stuck on Dadi Janki at the End and got a bigger crowd.

No, there is something not quite right about all this. £250,000 out for £5,000 back in ... I cant see how they spent so much. And where is all the international travel, UN service listed and sending money abroad?

Travel Expenditure incurred on behalf of members (remember, they have no "members" only "students") is £235,348.

This "reflects costs recovered from members traveling for pilgrimage to the founding Father's homeland in India". Now, they say they have 450 "students". If everyone goes, and pays via the BKWSU, that equals £522 each. What do bulk flights from London to Dehli cost? On the internet they start from £300 upwards. How does the system work?

Back to Just-A-Minute, are you tell me that the Knightsbridge born (that is where the most expensive fashion shops are in London), privileged "Jewish princess" and weather girl Tania Bryer is more spiritual or "values" orientated than Bono? Or Robin Gibb is any less rock and roll than The Rolling Stones? (Well. OK. Actually he is ... but you get what I mean regarding sex, drugs and disco).

Leaving her husband the same year as JAM in 2006, Tania is pictured here in 2008 with her new boyfriend, Hedge fund manager Rod Barker, "locking lips for ten minutes in the street at The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in London".

So what were the Brahma Kumaris trying to do and say with their Quarter of a Million Pound "charity" event of theirs? What it was really ... a 70th Anniversary party and to push their 3 Dadis, only one of them had Alzheimers and could not do public events any more ... no?

The thing is ... most proper charities have big celebrity gigs to raise money to do good in the world. For 'Quarter of a Million Pounds' you could have raised multi-millions for good causes better than encouraging C list celebrities to stop for just a minute before snogging their boyfriend ...

bk-tania-bryer.jpg (21.78 KiB) Viewed 10329 times

Brahma Kumari supporter Tania Bryer

Equally intriguing, for an "End of the World" cult, the BKWSU JAM websites state they support the "Save the World" environmental movemment Live Earth!?! We have had plenty of 'BK whitewash', is this the start of 'BK greenwash'?

Great pic, ex:L!

Well, Baba says he's come even to uplift prostitutes. The theme of "redemption" is an ancient one in religions, and sects. OMG! That woman looks so "rapacious" and voracious! Something in common with the Yagya!

It will give me nightmares. Guys especially, watch out!

Can you imagine your neck being grabbed by those red painted claws? But maybe "reflection" with the BK techniques will do the miracles, as we can see from the video. The drishti is quite "spaced out", which is a cousin state of being spiritual. The wings of a vulture can transform into those of an angel, once you belong to Baba!!

Can you imagine your neck being grabbed by those red painted claws?

Ha! I did not notice them until now ... right into the juglar vein of the 'hedge fund' banker like some vampire.

A hedge fund is a private investment fund open to a limited range of investors which pays a performance fee to its investment manager. Each fund will have its own strategy which determines the type of investments and the methods of investment it undertakes. Hedge funds are notorious for short selling and are typically open only to a limited range of professional or wealthy investors. This provides them with an exemption in many jurisdictions from government regulations.

Yup, it all sounds similar to VIP service to me. In their case, the "performance fee", by way of kudos and security within the system, going to the center-in-charge or BK responsible for pulling in such VIPs or "microphone souls".

But what is the message? Its good to be rich and famous and if you are, you can break the rules?

What I really and truly do not understand in all of this, Destruction or not as a belief system, is exactly what outcome are the BKWSU working towards in all of this? The 'stories' are certainly coming through nowadays aren't they?

Is it truly a case of wanting as many bhagats as possible and at any means, or is it more than that? The mind boggles.

ex-l asks... there is something not quite right about all this. £250,000 out for £5,000 back in ... I cant see how they spent so much.

Ready for the opening thrust, ex-l? Here we go (and I say this with all respect and affection) ... My you are naive, my dear ex-l.

This appears to be a typical, straightforward case of money laundering. It's what you do when you have more cash than you know what to do with, there's no suitable properties to acquire at the moment, and you need to account for it. (Throw a big bash, get the services and gear donated then claim that you paid for it.)

Then again, how much does it cost to hire the arena? An interesting audit would be to follow some specific expenditures claimed and see if receipts were actually issued by suppliers or if they have it recorded as "donation". You can be sure they would record donations for tax deductibility (PA or Lighting Hire for example).

The creative accountant knows that the fewer precise records and paper trails you have, the easier it is to just re-categorise blocks of moneys received and paid, to make things balance, and show what you need (or want) to show.

Can you imagine each centre and sub centre and program handing out receipts and entering data into Quikbooks or similar? Can you imagine the time it would take for a "cooperative" accountant to create "watertight" books for the BKSWU that would withstand proper scrutiny?

Or maybe it is me who is naive, and they did spend that proportion on self promotion!?

Thing is with the IT team is, they believe themselves to be very proffesional kind of guys, which involves telling the Seniors what is required which will be top notch, top of the range everythings, more fun for the boys. How are the ol' gals gonna know what they need? ... They simple believe people are 'instruments' for the job, never doubting their competance.