In 2018, a court in the southwestern Indian state of Kerala (map) authorized an investigation into the contested real-estate dealings of Cardinal George Alencherry, the Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church.

In 2018, the Congregation for Eastern Churches, citing the financial scandal, stripped Cardinal George Alencherry of his authority over his archdiocese and named Bishop Jacob Manathodath as apostolic administrator. In 2019, the Pope restored Cardinal Alencherry’s full authority.