MEMBERS of the Church of Scientology, described as a thriving cult of greed and power in a recent Time magazine expose have been linked to Cyprus through offshore company Theta Management Limited, which deals in consultancy and investments. In a special report dated May 6, Time reporter Richard Behar said the Church, which claims to have eight million followers, squirreled away an estimated $400 million in bank accounts in Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Cyprus. Theta Management Ltd was created on 29.10.1984, on ...

The Church of Scientology began as a pseudo-scientific healing cult, Dianetics, described by L. Ron Hubbard, a science fiction writer, in his best-selling book "Dianetics: The Modern science of Mental Health" (1950). At first, Dianetics attracted followers by promising to cure psychiatric and psychosomatic disorders through a procedure called "dianetic auditing," based on pop-psychology, hypnosis, and cybernetics. Hubbard's theory as based on the principle that people can achieve health through abolishing ("clearing") negative influences ("engrams") from their minds by going back ...

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STATE OF OKLAHOMA August 25, 1989 OPEN LETTER TO CITIZENS OF NEWKIRK AND KAY COUNTY: In response to your packet and the numerous letters of protest concerning the Narconon Drug treatment facility to be located at the Chilocco Indian School complex, I want you to know that I, too, am extremely concerned and am doing everything I know to stop this development. I have contacted and expressed my concerns to every individual and entity in state government that ...

TAMPA — You shouldn't be reading this story. The tale of Margery Wakefield vs. the Church of Scientology is supposed to be a secret. Church officials say so. So does a federal judge. In fact, Wakefield could go to jail for talking about the 12 years she spent as a member of the cult, which has its spiritual headquarters in Clearwater. Wakefield, 41, is talking anyway, braving the threats of Scientology lawyers and testing the patience of a U.S. district judge. ...

ST. PETERBURG, FLA, - It was like something out of a science fiction script - but L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, claimed it was fact. "Xenu," he called the central character. Xenu ruled the 90-planet Galactic Confederation 75-million years ago, when overpopulation was a problem. So Xenu solved the problem: He trapped selected beings and flew them to volcanoes on Earth, then called Teegeeach. He then dropped powerful H-bombs on the volcanoes. The beings were destroyed in a wall ...

Description of video is in italics. VO=VOICEOVER shot of Church of Scientology, Los Angeles; apparently group of ex-members VOICEOVER: The Church of Scientology, one of the largest and richest new religious movements, is being sued for a billion dollars by former members for fraud and breach of trust. They regard Scientology as a dangerous cult. group of Scientologists VO: Yet the church goes on expanding, making converts and claiming it is "The Road to Total Freedom". ''"Panorama" opening credits; while music ...

Therapy as Religion Though the Berendo Street headquarters is the hub of Scientology activity in Los Angeles, the church's showplace is its Celebrity Center at Franklin and Bronson. A grand gothic chateau built for William Randolph Hearst in the 1920s, this complex of Scientology offices and apartments has retained much of its charm, replete with garden grounds and flowing fountains The idyllic setting is reinforced as you enter the mansion's foyer. The walls are lined with original art, and music from ...

In a major victory for the Church of Scientology, a federal judge said Friday she will bar breakaway Scientology groups from using confidential church teachings that appear to have been stolen. U.S. District Judge Mariana R. Pfaelzer said she will issue a preliminary injunction until a trial can be held on a lawsuit brought by the Church of Scientology against defectors who have established rival churches and counseling centers. The Church of Scientology contends the teachings are protected by federal trade ...

In one of the largest court demonstrations in Los Angeles in years, about 1,500 Church of Scientology members crammed three floors of the County Courthouse on Monday, effectively blocking public access to documents that the church considers secret and sacred. For hours, Scientologists swamped workers in the clerk's office with hundreds of requests to photocopy the documents, which reveal some of the organization's most fundamental beliefs. Scientology attorneys have argued that disclosure of the materials is a violation of the group's ...

As the woman they called "Lee" spoke from the church pulpit, the crowd, estimated at 1,000 was deathly quiet, hanging on every word. For most, it was the first time they had heard about the alleged goings-on within the Church of Scientology. They listened, somewhat in awe, as the 34-year-old Wisconsin woman recounted methodically her 12 years in the church. Then, as she spoke more passionately about the past two years, they heard of her emotional and physical struggle to break ...

CLEARWATER — A crowd estimated at 1,000 persons packed Clearwater's Trinity Presbyterian Church on Thursday night to hear a woman who clams to be a former Scientologist describe practices designed to exorcist demons. Refusing to identify herself other than as "Lee," the 34-year old Wisconsin woman told the audience that she had been a Scientologist for 12 years and had actively pursued secret exorcising procedures, part of the time at the organization's Clearwater headquarters. She said she was eventually ostracized for ...

At the Fort Harrison Hotel in downtown Clearwater, Scientologists are learning to leave their bodies, control other people's thoughts and communicate with plant life. They learn this by reliving a galactic holocaust carried out by space creatures millions of years ago. So say top-secret Scientology documents spelling out the highest level of training available to church members. It is training that costs thousands of dollars and, according to church defectors who provided the documents, amounts to nothing but a swindle dreamed ...

Carol Garrity and Dick and Janie Peterson don't call Scientology a church anymore. After dropping about $40,000 in five years into church courses and training, they left the church three weeks ago disillusioned, angry and humiliated. Is Scientology a church? "No!" they answer. "You never hear mention of God or any praying," Dick Peterson said of the church that won tax-exempt status only after a 19-year court battle with the IRS. "It doesn't operate like a church," Garrity added. "It's run ...