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Update letter to the supporters

4 June 2026

Dear Supporters,

You may be aware that in March 2025, a group of people claiming to be representatives of Anagarika Dharmapala Trust (ADT) in Colombo, changed the front door lock at the London Buddhist Vihara (LBV) and shortly after occupied the building. They also put up a notice that the Trustees of LBV would not be permitted to enter the LBV building on the grounds that ADT owned the building. However, the fact of the matter is that the registered owner of the building is the Public Trustee of Sri Lanka (PT). This is the building that the charity legitimately occupies. Furthermore, when the London Buddhist Vihara was registered as an independent Charity

in December 2020 under the name London Buddhist Vihara Trust (LBVT), the responsibility of the management and maintenance of the building was transferred to the trust. Also, it is important for everyone to know that LBV is a place of worship, and they have no right to stop anyone from entering the building. It is also quite contrary to established ideals of Buddhism, and LBV has always been a welcoming and peaceful place for anyone, regardless of race or religion.

As the group seemed to have no regard for rules and regulations or law and order, the trustees decided not to get involved with them. It would have attracted unwelcome publicity, damaging the reputation of the LBV that the former highly respected Head Monks had built up through selfless devotion and hard work. Another reason

for the trustees to hold back was that two key people were supporting the group against the charity. We are withholding their names for now for good reason.

In fact, unless there is a court order prohibiting certain persons from entering for good reasons, the above action is considered unlawful. It is also a fact that the LBV building is registered at the HM Land Registry under the ownership of the Public Trustee of Sri Lanka (Reg No AGL 38505) Furthermore, the said group broke open the secure cabinet containing the keys to the building and also the filing cabinets containing confidential documents, including the Bank accounts.

In order to prevent entry of the Trustees, a security guard had been installed who has been scrutinising the visitors to the Vihara, causing some concern to the visitors.

The said unlawful occupation was reported to the CC and the Met Police, and we are following the guidelines provided by them. These include a legal procedure which has been slow due to delays in getting responses and a lack of cooperation from ADT lawyers, which is not surprising. We are now at an advanced stage and feel cautiously optimistic that we would be able to see an end to this disruption soon and return to the orderly and peaceful arrangements.

Present Situation

We want you to know that the matter has been reported to the relevant authorities in the UK, and we are confident that order would be restored in due course in the proper way as per their guidelines.

We are aware that there have been letters from the ADT sent to the supporters with false and defamatory nformation, and the relevant authorities have been made aware of these. It is not our intention to reply to these in public, as we wish to maintain the status of LBV as an august organisation. Our advice to anyone is that the legitimate trustees of the LBV could be easily seen at the Charity Commission website under the London Buddhist Vihara Trust

The Trustees are in control of the LBV NatWest bank account and are continuing to pay Gas, Electricity, Council Tax, Telephone, Internet, insurance and all other legitimate invoices.

As stated previously, the Bank of Ceylon (UK) account remains inaccessible to the trustees as they have been removed from the mandate and a person who is not a trustee has become the Sole Signatory. It had funds of over £150,000 in December 2023, saved by the trustees. This account receives most of the regular monthly donations and as it is registered as a charity account, the donors were entitled to tax benefits and the funds had the due protection. However, as it is in private hands now, the donors would not be entitled to those benefits anymore. Not being entitled to the Gift Aid Scheme means that the charity would not be receiving the additional 25% from the Tax Office. The Charity Commission wanted the donors to be informed immediately.

However, the letter prepared by the trustees had not been sent to the donors by the persons who were handling the database, which is owned by the Trust. This matter is under investigation by FCA and has been reported to the ICO.

The Trustees are not responsible for any funds collected on the LBV premises while they have been locked out.
We strongly advise you to ask for a receipt for every donation, as these have to be included in the charity account. This rule also applies to collections from the donation boxes.

We are unable to provide further information at this time due to ongoing proceedings.

Thank you for your patience and support, and we expect to give you another update soon.

With kind regards

The Trustees
London Buddhist Vihara Trust

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