Critics have called the group a ‘moneymaking business’, with many people having lost huge sums of money from its ‘spiritual sales’
If the ruling is upheld, legal experts anticipate the group would swiftly appeal to the Supreme Court, but say such a move might not automatically halt liquidation proceedings against it.
The group would lose its status as a religious corporation, forfeit tax privileges and enter court-supervised liquidation, even if another appeal is pending.
In the aftermath of the shooting, the group faced intense scrutiny over what critics described as “spiritual sales” – solicitation of donations and sales of inexpensive items at high prices by invoking religious beliefs.
