Overview
- Police arrested 66-year-old Phra Wachirayan Wi after raids on Sept 10–11 that found CCTV footage of him having sex with a woman and led to his immediate defrocking.
- Authorities charged the former abbot with embezzlement and money laundering and announced an expanding criminal probe to identify others involved.
- Investigators say they seized about 215 million baht in assets, including gold bars, jewellery, cash and land title deeds, and are tracing which items belong to the temple.
- Police say the alleged fraud used two donation streams—receipts issued for temple renovations and for amulet sales—none of which, investigators contend, entered the temple’s bank account.
- A 47-year-old woman, Punyavee Rungrueang, was arrested on related charges and is accused of helping move and conceal funds, a development that adds to public calls for tighter oversight of temple finances after last year’s clergy scandals.