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A big case of corruption has come to light against a senior Buddhist monk
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Phra Thamma Wachiranuwat, a well-known religious leader in Thailand, who is 70 years old and is also the abbot of Wat Rai Khing as well as the ecclesiastical governor of Nakhon Pathom, surrendered himself to the police last Thursday. Shortly before his arrest, the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases had issued an arrest warrant against him.
Temple funds misused for 5 years, money reached online gambling sites
Investigative agencies say that in the last five years, Abbot transferred crores of rupees from the temple to his personal account. This money was later transferred to the account of 28-year-old Aranyawan Wangthapan, who has connections with illegal online gambling sites.
Then transactions worth up to 500 million were linked to gambling, earlier it was estimated to be 300 million
While the initial investigation had revealed a financial fraud of 300 million, the police later unearthed even bigger transactions. Funds worth THB 500 million from Abbot’s account were misappropriated in transactions linked to suspected gambling platforms.
When the temple’s funds started running out, Abbot tried to hide the expenses by taking loans from senior monks of other temples.
Investigation gathers speed, several people arrested; more links expected to be found in gambling racket
The police arrested Aranyawan Wangthapan earlier in the week. He was also charged with having links with a gambling site called Lagalaxy911 in 2023, for which he got bail.
Apart from this, Ekkapot Phukhang, a former monk and an old associate of the abbot, has also been arrested. He deposited the temple money in Aranyawan’s account through ATM, this work was done on the orders of the abbot.
The authorities also questioned many other people, including an assistant abbot and a retired navy officer. Temple vehicles were registered in the name of the Navy officer and his wife, but till now no case has been filed against them.
Questions are being raised on financial transparency in temples and religious institutions
The Crime Suppression Division is still auditing in detail the financial dealings and properties related to Wat Rai Khing.
This whole matter points towards another big issue: huge amounts of money are flowing into temples and religious institutions without proper monitoring. As new evidence is emerging, the public and lawmakers may demand stricter laws regarding temple finance regulations. Presently the investigation is on.
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