The Chicago Tribune Moon finds shadow of probes cast over 'Eden' By Patrice M. Jones Tribune foreign correspondent Published May 12, 2002 RIO DE JANEIRO -- In a region that borders one of the world's great wildlife preserves, Rev. Sun Myung Moon proclaimed after a fishing trip in 1994 that he would build a heavenly haven for his followers. The Moon organization's sprawling ranch compound in Brazil's vast southwestern interior is several hours from the nearest major city. But much is promised at New Hope Ranch for those making the journey, with a fabled sign at its entrance reading, "Welcome to the Garden of Eden." However, state legislators, the governor and federal police in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul are investigating the paradise founded by the 82-year-old leader of the Unification Church. The inquiries come, they say, as Moon has acquired more than 1 million acres straddling the border of Brazil and Paraguay over the past seven years. Last week, federal police raided several sites of Moon's Brazil organization, the Association of Families for Unification and World Peace, both in Mato Grosso do Sul and also in Sao Paulo state. They seized records and computers in a broad investigation into allegations of tax evasion and immigration violations. Police also targeted the residence and offices of Rev. Kim Yoon Sang, the Brazilian representative for Moon and his religious group. The state legislature of Mato Grosso do Sul also has an ongoing inquiry, as does Brazil's internal revenue service. Federal police reported that they began investigating Moon's organization late last year after a former employee said the association was involved in money laundering. A federal judge authorized the seizure of banking and financial records earlier this year. Concerns about true intent "Although formally established in this country as a philanthropic entity, the Association of Families for Unification and World Peace has developed a diverse program, generating worries and a high level of doubt in relation to their true objectives," the federal police said in a statement after the raids. Police officials have said little publicly about the case. But the Brazilian Intelligence Agency, which is also investigating the group, fears Moon's operations threaten national sovereignty, and the military has raised concerns that the reverend has ambitions to start a self-styled "nation" in the vast, open lands of South America. Mato Grosso do Sul Gov. Jose Orcirio dos Santos, elected in 1998, first began to raise questions about the association's acquisitions. Dos Santos said in an official statement last week that Brazil's national defense chief requested in October 2000 that he aid in efforts to investigate the Moon organization. Moon also has stirred up concerns in other places. In neighboring Paraguay, activists appealed for international help last year to attempt to block the sale of 865,000 acres that included an entire town of 6,000 residents called Puerto Casado, which was sold to a company belonging to the Moon sect. The town was transferred wholesale along with its local church, schools, historical monuments and even its cemetery. In the Chaco region where Puerto Casado is located, indigenous people account for 60 percent of the population but own less than 2 percent of the land. The sale outraged residents, who demanded authorities give them title to the land that they had occupied for decades. Despite the anger and investigations, little evidence has been produced against Moon's organization--except the ambition to acquire ever more land. Brazilian officials say more-concrete evidence is on the way. But the association's lawyer, Neudir Ferabolli, whose house was also raided last week, said the inquiries are "no less than religious persecution." Working within law "We are not a criminal organization," Ferabolli said in a telephone interview. "We are a religious organization working and trying to do something for society. Everything we have done is according to the law." On the other hand, Mato Grosso do Sul federal Judge Odilon de Oliveira, who is investigating the Moon association, said there is reason for concern: "We are investigating the possibility that this association is simply a front for Koreans to buy land at the border." Brazilian law generally prohibits the sale of rural and border lands to foreigners, but Moon's organization was able to acquire large tracts of property under the authority of his Brazil-based association, Judge de Oliveira said. "If this is not truly a Brazilian entity and it is not for philanthropic purposes but a facade to acquire land, then we have a problem," he said. State legislator Nelito Camara, who is on a special committee investigating the Mato Grosso do Sul properties, said the legislature is investigating the source of the money used to pay for the land, which includes more than 50 large farms. He said there already was evidence that some foreigners at the complex entered Brazil illegally or had overstayed tourist visas. Officials also are investigating allegations of tax evasion and money laundering. Moon served 18 months in prison in the United States for tax evasion during the 1980s. The goal in Brazil is to bring people from different countries to work on projects that would better themselves and the nation, Ferabolli said. So far, small agricultural projects, including an ostrich-breeding farm, have been started. Moon, known for mass weddings of his followers, founded the Unification Church in 1954. With substantial wealth, he has become known for his global business interests, including the Washington Times newspaper. His Unification Church is reported to have some 4.6 million members worldwide, including claims of "thousands" in Brazil. Northern Light Technology Agencia EFE Title: Brazilian police seize documents from Rev. Sun Myung Moon's sect Summary: Rio de Janeiro, May 07, 2002 (EFE via COMTEX) -- Police have confiscated accounting records from Brazilian offices of Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Association of Families for Unification and World Peace, the daily O Globo reported Tuesday. Agencia EFE Brazilian police seize documents from Rev. Sun Myung Moon's sect Story Filed: Tuesday, May 07, 2002 1:40 PM EST Rio de Janeiro, May 07, 2002 (EFE via COMTEX) -- Police have confiscated accounting records from Brazilian offices of Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Association of Families for Unification and World Peace, the daily O Globo reported Tuesday. Sixty federal police and 20 government auditors raided offices, as well as residences of the association's leaders, in the states of Sao Paulo and Mato Grosso do Sul. The raids were ordered by a judge investigating suspected irregularities in the association's accounts. Mato Grosso do Sul federal Judge Odilson de Oliveira had already opened the banking and tax records of the association's leaders during a trial in which the group faced charges of money laundering and tax evasion. De Oliveira is also investigating authorities' accusations that Moon's sect has become a "threat to national sovereignty." Officials point to the rapid growth of the sect in Mato Grosso do Sul, where Moon's followers have bought more than 50 large farms near the Paraguayan border, where the sect administers an immense farming complex called "Nova Esperanca (New Hope)," which has attracted followers from various parts of the world. Some of those settlers apparently entered Brazil illegally, O Globo said. The police seized all the accounting records, as well as several of the sect's computers and data files, during the raid. Police also raided the offices of the soccer team Centro Esportivo Nova Esperanca, which is owned by the association. The team debuted this year in the Brazil Cup, one of the country's largest soccer tournaments. The sect's accounts were first investigated after Jai Siki Kim, Moon's former associate, told police he helped the association launder money in Brazil. The leaders of Moon's association said they purchased some $30 million in property in Mato Grosso do Sul, but have still not explained how they obtained the funds used. Mato Grosso do Sul legislators investigating the activities of Moon's sect have asked tax officials to investigate where the group's money originated. The Nova Esperanca complex includes large areas of fertile land in the 43 municipalities of Mato Grosso do Sul. National Public Radio (NPR) SHOW: All Things Considered (9:00 PM ET) - NPR May 8, 2002 Wednesday Unification Church in trouble with tax authorities in Brazil ANCHORS: JOHN YDSTIE; LIANE HANSEN REPORTERS: MARTIN KASTE JOHN YDSTIE, host: National Public Radio (NPR) May 8, 2002 Wednesday From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm John Ydstie. LIANE HANSEN, host: And I'm Liane Hansen. Reverend Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church is running into trouble with the tax authorities again, this time in Brazil. Officials there are investigating the church for tax evasion in connection with the hundreds of square miles of land the church owns along the border with Paraguay. It's just the latest of Reverend Moon's growing troubles in South America, where he'd once promised to build a new Garden of Eden. NPR's Martin Kaste reports from the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul. MARTIN KASTE reporting: On Monday, more than 100 police and tax agents raided 13 offices and homes connected to the Unification Church in various places around Brazil. Speaking on his cell phone, church official Noldeer Simon Fedibali(ph) describes the raids as abusive. Mr. NOLDEER SIMON FEDIBALI (Unification Church Official): (Foreign language spoken) KASTE: 'They sent 23 police cars full of federal agents armed with machine guns,' Fedibali says. He says, 'The police broke down some doors, even though the church had offered to cooperate.' Fedibali sees the raids as part of a political campaign against the church, but Brazilian authorities say they have reason to believe Moon's organizations are underpaying their taxes by as much as $13 million a year. They also point to the fact that Reverend Moon was already convicted of tax evasion once in the United States, where he spent a little more than one year behind bars. (Soundbite of birds chirping) KASTE: Whatever the merits of the investigation, it is true that Brazilian politicians don't like Reverend Moon's presence in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. This region is home to some of Brazil's most colorful wildlife: toucans, jaguars and clouds of screeching parakeets. It's also prime grazing and farming country, and the idea that 328 square miles of it belongs to an outsider disturbs many local politicians. State legislator Jerison Domingoz(ph), who's leading an investigation of the church, says he's alarmed by the location of Reverend Moon's land. Mr. JERISON DOMINGOZ (State Legislator): (Through Translator) If he'd picked another part of our state, maybe he wouldn't have caused all this tension and worry because right now his land purchases are all aimed at the region along the Paraguayan border. KASTE: Moon's organizations own at least another 2,000 square miles just across the border in sparsely populated Paraguay, and Domingoz says he's worried that Moon is trying to create some kind of autonomous region. Mr. DOMINGOZ: (Through Translator) Curiously, we found out that it's no longer possible to buy any houses or vacant lots in that region because almost all of them belong to Reverend Moon. So our worry is that he's planning to create a Korean sub-race here in our state. KASTE: But this vision of invading hordes of foreigners doesn't live up to reality at the New Hope Ranch, Moon's headquarters here. (Soundbite of temple activity) KASTE: Here in the main temple, for example, four people sit in a space that was meant for 2,000. On Sundays no more than about 150 families worship here. On the dais two vacant overstuffed chairs await the next visit of Reverend Moon and his wife. Outside, things are even emptier. This is big sky country, gently rolling pasture land dotted by occasional clumps of trees where the zeeboo cattle(ph) seek shelter from the intense sun. When the Unification Church first started buying land, it promised to revolutionize this cattle country with exotic new forms of agriculture. One such proposal was the extraction of medicinal oil from the native cappaberra(ph), a South American rodent the size of a pig. But it's been six years, and most of these plans are still just plans. One exception is this pen containing 40 African ostriches. They're tended by a shy Philippines native named Gina(ph). GINA (Tends Ostriches): I joined the Unification in Hong Kong and then after a while--one year, I came to Brazil. KASTE: Got it. What do you think of Brazil? GINA: (Laughs) KASTE: So-so. The church married Gina to a Brazilian Moon devotee that brought the new couple here three years ago to raise these birds. She speaks very little Portuguese and lives an isolated life out here, caring for birds that she clearly doesn't like very much. She says they're more work than children. (Soundbite of ostriches) KASTE: As she shows her guests around, the ostriches hiss and lunge through the chain-link fence. (Soundbite of ostriches) KASTE: The Brazilian directors of the New Hope Ranch call the ostrich farm an experiment, something they were told to do after Reverend Moon learned that ostrich meat was low in fat. Orders like this are conveyed via three so-called counselors, taciturn Korean men who sit in on interviews with foreign journalists but rarely speak. They're the real authority here, but they let their Brazilian underlings explain what happened to Moon's grandiose plans. Mr. SAYZAR ZADOOSKY (Director, New Hope Ranch): Reverend Moon, when he came, obviously he didn't know so much. KASTE: Sayzar Zadoosky(ph) is one of the directors at New Hope. He's a Brazilian of Polish descent, but he speaks English with what appears to be an Asian accent. Mr. ZADOOSKY: So he had many ideas. OK. Let's make a car factory. But later we found that's no money doing that. OK. Let's make a shipyard. OK. Maybe. But now he change. He is trying to make some shipyard in Uruguay in Montevideo. KASTE: Zadoosky says the Brazilian government has discouraged the church's projects with too much bureaucracy, such as enforcing environmental rules that no one else bothers to follow. At the same time, he says, local people don't seem to mind the church's presence. Mr. ZADOOSKY: OK. Everybody's happy. The farmers are happy when they sell the land to us. When we go and to pay the tax in the city hall, everybody's happy. When we buy car they are happy. When we buy some material for construction they are happy. KASTE: Very few of the local people have joined the church, but many send their kids to a private school on the New Hope Ranch. People also like the fact that Reverend Moon has bought a professional soccer team. The players train on the ranch and have become a source of regional pride when they go to the state playoffs. In general, the church's biggest fights are with the politicians. In one recent case, the church bought 120 square miles of land from a Brazilian senator. Soon after the purchase, the federal government expropriated the land for a new national park. Zadoosky says the senator knew about the planned park and unloaded the land on the church ahead of time. He says that kind of experience is typical. Nevertheless, he has faith in his spiritual leader's ability to negotiate the wilds of Brazilian politics. Mr. ZADOOSKY: Reverend Moon is not that stupid guy, you know. He's smart guy. KASTE: The church says it plans to fight the tax evasion accusations until the last man is standing, in the words of one official. But Moon's followers also acknowledge that the environment in Brazil has become very cold for them. And they say for now their plans for an earthly utopia along the Paraguay River are on hold. Martin Kaste, NPR News, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. United Press International Brazilian police raid Moon organization From the International Desk Published 5/8/2002 8:02 PM SAO PAULO, Brazil, May 8 (UPI) -- Brazilian federal authorities have raided holdings belonging to the Association of Families for Unification and World Peace --- an organization founded by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon --- and have seized computers and documents on suspicion of tax evasion and immigration violations, authorities told United Press International on Wednesday. Brazil's Federal Police Department said in a statement that officers on Monday raided 14 homes and offices in Sao Paulo and Mato Grosso do Sul state, searching for information regarding the organization. "Although it is formally established in this country as a philanthropic entity, the Association of Families for Unification and World Peace (known locally by the acronym AFUPM) has developed a diversified program that has provoked doubt about the true nature of the organization," the statement said. A Federal Police spokesman in Mato Grosso do Sul, who spoke to UPI on condition of anonymity, said authorities seized $16,000 in travelers checks, $214 in one-dollar bills, a shotgun, cellphone, computers and several boxes of documents and computer disks. The spokesman said no one was arrested, as the orders by federal police were to only search and confiscate select items. While the statement said AFUPM was suspected of tax evasion and immigration violations, the spokesman said authorities also thought the organization might have engaged in money laundering. A representative for the organization denounced the raid, calling it "a total abuse of power." "How can they do this --- just invade our property?" organization lawyer Neudir Simao Ferabolli told UPI, alleging the federal police used excessive force and were heavily armed when raiding the organizations offices and residences. "Our children were scared," he said. Federal police began their investigation of AFUPM following allegations by a former employee that the organization was involved in money laundering. A judge in February ordered the seizure of its financial records. "We knew we were under investigation, all they had to do was ask us for whatever material they wanted and we would have given it to them," Ferabolli said. UPI is owned by News World Communications Inc., a media company founded by Moon.              Printer-friendly version Click here to be added to our mailing list.