By GEOFFREY MOSOKU, The Star

The Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) Church has announced a public inquiry into the activities of Crypto-trading where worshippers lost millions after the online platform collapsed.

The collapse of a cryptocurrency and forex trading platform that had been promoted by a senior church leader left thousands of Kenyans reporting financial losses estimated in the millions of shillings.

The platform abruptly became inaccessible after users discovered that the website had disappeared and were redirected to a new platform requiring a registration fee of at least Sh24,000.

Pastor Paul Mwangi, former president of the Central Kenya Conference—which oversees congregations in Nairobi, Kiambu, Machakos, and surrounding counties was among those who revealed that they had lost millions in the scam, even after introducing many church members to the business.

Pastor Mwangi is currently the executive secretary of the East Kenya Union Conference (EKUC), another administrative unit governing nearly half of the Adventist churches in Kenya.

The cleric said he was introduced to Optcoin by third parties who encouraged him to consolidate investments from other crypto and forex platforms into the platform, later appointing him a regional director for Kenya, a role that made him a visible promoter and led others to join.

In a public notice dated February 26, 2026, the East and Central Africa Division (ECD), the body that oversees the administrative functions of the church in the region, issued notice of a public schedule of the probe.

The ECD will also use the commission to hear and determine an appeal by 19 pastors who were fired over alleged misconduct and formation of an apostasy organisation by the Nakuru-based SDA Central Rift Valley Conference (CRVC).

The ECD is a division of the Maryland-based General Conference of the SDA church, which is the world headquarters and administrative unit. ECD, based in Rongai, overseas 11 countries in the region. 

“The ECD Commission on Opticoin/Wealth Sharing and Central Rift Valley Conference Matters wishes to share its operational guidelines,” the notice reads in part.

The Commission meetings shall be held at the East-Central Africa Division headquarters on Advent Hill, Ongata Rongai, with tomorrow, March 2, 2026, being the orientation by ECD officers and the Commission's preliminary meeting.

On Tuesday, March 3, 2026, the team will be receiving submissions related to the Opticoin/Wealth Sharing matter from 9 am to 1 pm and from 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm.

On Wednesday, March 4, 2026, the commission will be receiving submissions related to the Central Rift Valley Conference matter from 9 am to 1 pm and from 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm.

The next day, on Thursday, the Commission will hold deliberations and on Friday meet to draft recommendations.

“All submissions shall be made in writing, signed with the submitter's name and contact telephone number. Submissions should be supported by documented evidence where applicable. For those who may want to send submissions via email, use This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.,” Commission Secretary Tom Ogal said.

Ogal said those wishing to make submissions to the Commission without appearing before it are free to do so, provided their submissions are in writing, signed with names and contact telephone numbers, and supported by documented evidence where applicable.

“Persons appearing before the Commission shall base their oral submissions on their written documents. Any affected groups regarding the Opticoin/Wealth Sharing and the Central Rift Valley Conference matters may select a few representatives to make oral submissions on their behalf.”

Ogal also said that the Commission may invite any specific persons or groups of interest to appear before it, as may be necessary.

On November 6, 2025, shortly before the platform collapsed, ECD had issued a cautionary communication to senior leaders specifically warning against involvement in what the church called unethical or illegal financial activities. 

“No minister or Church employee shall, directly or indirectly, participate in, promote, or facilitate any unethical, unlicensed, or fraudulent investment activity, whether in person, through organisations, or via online platforms,” the letter stated.