As reported by SPECTRUM in 2024, financial irregularities investigated by Adventist Risk Management, Inc. (ARM) in its South America office led to local terminations and a reorganization of Adventist insurance coverage in the region. Two years later, a former senior leader at ARM-SA, who was granted anonymity in order to speak freely, has provided documentation on how the church officers in Brazil tried to hide their financial self-dealing, as well as a deeper understanding of how a “fraternity-like” network of the division’s finance officers operated.
The stolen church funds were concealed through three South American Division (SAD) associations, essentially denominationally operated nonprofit organizations: the National Association of Seventh-day Adventist Educational Institutions (registration number 15.486.030/0001-27), the National Association of Seventh-day Adventist Health Institutions (registration number 15.486.048/0001-29), and especially the National Association of Seventh-day Adventist Entities (ANEASD) (registration number 15.486.042/0001-51). Records show the official listed activities for these organizations focus on religious activities, food production, publication of literature, and radio and TV.
These three companies were presided over by Marlon De Souza Lopes, who retired a few months after news of the fraud at the ARM-SA office broke. He had spent 14 years as division treasurer (CFO). Honored a year later at the 2025 General Conference (GC) Session,...
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