MCGI Australia Under Fire for Surging Internal Spending as Charity Directors, Families Receive Benefits and Travel Perks

Sydney, Australia — Financial records submitted by Members Church of God International Australia (ABN: 26 629 185 235) have revealed alarming year-over-year surges in internal spending and vague financial transfers, prompting whistleblower group MCGI Exiters Australia to file formal complaints with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and the group’s own external auditor, First Equity Audit Pty Ltd.

MCGI reported receiving nearly $4 million AUD in donations in the fiscal year ending June 2024. However, over 70 percent of those funds were allocated to expense categories with limited transparency and minimal evidence of public benefit.

Comparative Expenditure Analysis: FY2023 vs FY2024

Expense Category	FY2023 (AUD)	FY2024 (AUD)	Increase (AUD)	% Increase
Food & Events Expense	$99,088	$1,064,891.62	$965,803.62	974.69%
Travel & Accommodation	$84,060	$436,896.23	$352,836.23	419.74%
Ministry Expenses	$316,125	$506,024.42	$189,899.42	60.07%
Overseas Aid / Donation Expense	$1,823,421	$639,690.37	-$1,183,730.63	-64.95%

Note: Overseas donations were present in FY2023 under the category "Overseas Aid & Development Donation." In 2024, this was renamed "Overseas Donation Expense" and decreased significantly.

Whistleblowers Allege Pattern of Ministerial Self-Enrichment

MCGI Exiters alleges that these financial patterns reflect a long-running system of internal benefit cloaked in religious and charitable language.

The Travel & Accommodation category is under particular scrutiny. It rose more than 400% in 2024, despite reports that charity directors Efren Baquing and Restituto Reyes were having their travel and housing costs privately covered by members.

As early as 2018, both individuals were already receiving direct rent subsidies from MCGI Cares: $18,720 AUD for Baquing and $28,500 AUD for Reyes, under “Employee Benefits.” This, whistleblowers argue, is clear evidence that financial enrichment of leadership is not incidental but embedded.

Travel Expenditures: Lavish Trips for Charity Directors and Their Entourage

Despite reporting only two employees in its official filings, MCGI Australia recorded a staggering $436,896.23 AUD in Travel and Accommodation expenses for FY2024, a more than 400% increase from the previous year.

According to MCGI Exiters Australia, this figure reflects not organizational outreach or missionary work, but frequent travel by the charity’s directors, Efren Baquing and Restituto Reyes, along with their families and household helpers. Whistleblowers allege that these trips often resemble personal vacations rather than charitable missions, with no public reporting or documented outcomes to support the expenses.

What makes the figure more troubling is the disproportionate cost relative to the size of the declared staff and the absence of large-scale programs requiring such travel.

“They’re not flying out for charity—they’re flying out for comfort,” said one former member. “Meanwhile, members are guilted into donating for so-called outreach while the leadership lives like tourists.”

The directors have also been observed flaunting international vacations unrelated to any known charitable activity, further raising questions about whether travel expenses are being misrepresented as ministry costs.

The lack of transparency surrounding these expenditures, especially when family members and non-employees appear to benefit points to a potential misuse of charitable funds, and, according to Exiters, warrants immediate regulatory and forensic audit.

Razon Family Vacations Raise Further Questions

Adding to the concerns over questionable travel spending, MCGI Exiters Australia notes that Kuya Daniel Razon, the current leader of MCGI, along with his wife Arlene Razon and their children, have been frequent visitors to Australia since 2023.

While their trips are officially declared as church missions, Arlene Razon has been publicly vlogging their visits, including outings to theme parks, luxury restaurants, and major tourist attractions. This a sharp contrast to the church’s messaging around sacrifice and modesty.

Taylor Swift Era's Tour Australia

Also in 2024, Daniel Razon’s niece, Cid Razon, traveled to Australia, not for ministry, but to attend Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. In ABC Interview, she boasted about spending “the price of a car” just to secure her ticket and attend the show, an extravagance Exiters say is tone-deaf and ethically questionable, especially given the financial sacrifices MCGI members are continually urged to make. That ABC interview has since been deleted but the video archive has been uploaded:

“This is not a community of equals. It’s a hierarchy where the ruling family flaunts wealth while the faithful fund it,” said one former worker in MCGI’s finance team.

The timing of these trips, alongside a documented surge in MCGI Australia’s travel expenditures raises broader concerns over whether church donations are being routed, directly or indirectly, into personal indulgences disguised as ministry mobility.

The surge in Food Expenses

The surge in Food & Events Expense, from under $100K to over $1 million, remains unexplained. There is no record of whether this funding supported public feeding programs or was used for exclusive internal gatherings.

“Ministry Expenses,” already high in 2023, climbed an additional 60% in 2024 without any itemization. And while the Overseas Donation Expense dropped in 2024 compared to 2023, it remains undisclosed and undocumented, with no indication of recipient organizations, countries served, or project outcomes.

Regulatory Filings Now Underway

MCGI Exiters Australia has taken coordinated action by:

• Filing a formal complaint with the ACNC, calling for an investigation into potential breaches of the ACNC Act

• Reporting to ASIC, flagging possible conflicts of interest, lack of fiduciary accountability, and misuse of Responsible Person roles

• Notifying First Equity Audit Pty Ltd, the group’s external auditor, urging further scrutiny into undisclosed internal benefits and irregular expense classifications

A System Demanding Accountability

“Charities exist to serve the public—not to fund the private lives of religious elites,” said a spokesperson for MCGI Exiters. “This isn’t poor bookkeeping. This is a sustained pattern of financial insulation, executive privilege, and concealed enrichment.”

The ACNC has confirmed receipt of Complaint Ref. No. 1176252. ASIC and First Equity Audit Pty Ltd have yet to issue public responses.