A South London Pentecostal Reverend used the credit union he founded to issue unlawful loans to a church, exposing union members to hundreds of thousands of pounds of potential losses. Reverend Carmel Jones MBE, director of the Pentecostal Credit Union (PCU), issued £1.2million in loans under its members' names - in one case without their knowledge - and channeled the funds to an unnamed church organisation, the Financial Services Authority said today. The loans were unlawful and union members have now been exposed to a potential £670,000 loss because the relationship between the union and the church has broken down.

Rev Jones, who has previously been listed as one of the most influential black people in Britain, has been declared unfit to hold this position and banned from the financial services industry. However, he escaped a fine of £60,000 due to his financial circumstances. A credit union is a member-owned financial co-operative, controlled by its members and operated for the purpose of providing credit at competitive rates and providing other financial services. The union in question, the PCU, is based in Balham, London, with its 1,600 membership drawn from congregations of Pentecostal Churches. The credit union declined to comment but confirmed Rev Jones was no longer with the organisation.....Read more here: Reverend Carmel Jones banned from financial services after using credit union he founded to issue unlawful loans