Thai police have arrested a Buddhist monk on suspicion of stealing 100 million baht ($3 million; £2.2 million) from his monastery, as well as an alleged accomplice with whom he was filmed having sex.
Phra Vajirayan Wee, the former abbot of the famous 14th-century Wat Phutthaisavan temple in the ancient capital of Ayutthaya, allegedly pocketed donations intended for the temple more than 20 times over a two-year period.
In Thailand, Buddhist monks take a vow of celibacy and also renounce material wealth. After his arrest, he was defrocked. He has not yet made public comments.
The latest arrests come just over a year after Thailand’s monastic community was rocked by another case of sex and blackmail involving senior monks.
The 66-year-old was famous for creating the highly coveted amulet coin. Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul is reported to own some of his creations.
Thailand’s Buddhist Institute has long been plagued by reports of monks violating their vows of celibacy, engaging in drug trafficking and committing financial crimes.
Last July, police opened a hotline for people to report “bad behavior by monks” after at least nine monks were found to have had sex with a woman. She then blackmailed them with photos and videos worth almost $12 million.
Police on Friday said they had discovered two streams of money linked to donation receipts that Phra Vachirayan issued on behalf of the temple: one was for repairs to the temple and the other was for payment for amulets and other sacred items.
“But the money from both streams did not reach the temple account. Not a single baht,” lead police investigator Pattanasak Bupphazuwan told a news conference, according to reports.
Police found cash and gold bars worth more than 100 million baht during a raid on Phra Vajirayan’s residence on Thursday, with the count continuing late into the night, Thai news outlet The Nation reported.
While reviewing CCTV footage from the house, police found footage of him having sex with a woman on the dining room table.
Authorities identified her as 47-year-old Punyavi Rungruang, who was arrested on charges of aiding a government official in illegal activity. She has not yet made public comments.
Many monks in Thailand receive stipends from the government and are therefore considered government officials.
From Punyavi’s home, police confiscated 35 gold amulets, as well as about 1.5 kg of gold bars and jewelry worth about 6.04 million baht.
Police believe Punyavi helped Phra Vajirayan manage the stolen proceeds, noting that tens of millions of baht flow through her bank accounts every year, The Bangkok Post reported.
Investigators say they began looking into the case in mid-July after receiving an anonymous tip alleging Phra Vachirayan was accused of misconduct and misuse of temple funds.
According to them, two or three more people may be involved in the case.