Three things are central to any ministry or Christian organisation: truth and transparency, which create trust.  Unfortunately for Barnabas Aid, Colin Bloom, mired in financial difficulties, seems unable to achieve this trust.

An African leader has commented that Colin’s lips don’t match his actions. Another African leader has said that Colin talks out of the side of his mouth. 

Could there be something that Colin Bloom is trying to hide?

It is strange that he will not reveal the salary which he is paid as CEO of Barnabas Aid International.  When asked, he is evasive. Why?

Then there is his family home. Mr and Mrs Bloom, their children and pets left their home in Kent, UK, and moved into The Old Rectory, Pewsey, in early October 2024. Bloom made it known that he planned to purchase a house in Swindon (20 miles away) for his family.  But, after a year, they are all apparently still in The Old Rectory, Pewsey, occupying property owned by the charity Servants Fellowship International (SFI) and thus preventing it being used for Christian ministry.  He moved in without the approval of the trustees of SFI. Soon afterwards he began claiming that he himself was a trustee of SFI.   Bloom has told people that he pays rent for the large and beautiful Georgian building but never says how much or to whom.  Why the secrecy?  And why has he cleared the Old Rectory site of virtually all Barnabas staff except the cleaners and gardeners?  There used to be over 30 office staff working there.

Then there are the indications that Colin Bloom could be in serious financial trouble. Might he even be facing bankruptcy? 

• Is it true that Bloom’s company Vetting.com made a 6-figure payout to the British political party Reform UK to avoid being sued by them?  This would likely have occurred soon after the UK general election in July 2024. Bloom is currently the company’s only director, the other one having resigned in January 2024.

• Is it true that Bloom’s company Sphinx Technology Limited has had to borrow £300,000?  https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/13204878/filing-history Its other three directors have all resigned, leaving only Mr Bloom. It appears to have had debts of more than £1.3 million as of 31 March 2024. This was less than a month before Bloom became CEO of Nexcus International (now calling itself Barnabas Aid International).  Did he see Nexcus as his financial saviour? Sphinx Technology Limited – which apparently trades as Vetting.com – is currently being taken to court by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), who want to have the company wound up.  This is most likely because Sphinx has unpaid tax debts and has ignored HMRC’s reminders asking for payment, although occasionally HMRC will take this action for even more serious reasons. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/4972225 The winding -up petition will be heard at the High Court, Royal Courts of Justice, 7 Rolls Building, Fetter Lane, London, EC4A 1NL on 15 October 2025 at 10.30 a.m.

• Is it true that Bloom used to be paid £3,000 a month to be a non-executive director of Umuthi Healthcare Solutions in South Africa, until he resigned in September 2021 after its allegedly fraudulent activities became known? That was £36,000 a year which he now doesn’t get.

• Is it true that Bloom was paid a monthly sum by the UK government while he worked on the Independent Faith Engagement Review which then Prime Minister Boris Johnson appointed him to do in September 2019?  The report was not published until 26 April 2023. After that, one assumes, the monthly payments stopped.

• Is it true that Bloom is also a founding director of a company called Sphinx Vetting Private Limited, incorporated in India on 6 May 2024?  Does anyone know its financial situation?

These questions raise another question: did the board members of Nexcus International do the appropriate due diligence when they appointed Colin Bloom to be CEO in April 2024? Did they know the situation of Bloom’s personal finances when they appointed him? Why do the Nexcus board members refuse to answer when asked what salary they are paying him?  In fact, they are notably silent on all questions to do with money.  There are suggestions that Nexcus has at least $37 million in the bank (at least according to the latest Form 990 they filed in the USA).  Nexcus’s money is the donations of Barnabas supporters around the world.  Are these funds safe? 

And here’s a final question. Why does Bloom associate himself with the word “sphinx”?  The sphinx is a symbol of mystery.  A person described metaphorically as a sphinx is one whose facial expression does not show what they are thinking – an unknowable person. According to Greek myth, the sphinx is a treacherous and merciless being who challenges those who encounter her to answer a riddle; when they fail to solve the riddle she kills and eats them.  Colin Bloom seems drawn to this mythical creature. It is a sad day for Barnabas Aid that the man who is their public face embraces this emblem of mystery, concealment and dissimulation. The sphinx represents the very opposite of transparency and that is why Barnabas Aid is no longer trusted.