Fraud involving 17 million baht with Buddhist fund – four arrests
Thai police have charged four men, including a temple abbot, on suspicion of embezzling 17 million Thai baths (about $45,000). The amount was intended for the Chanthaburi Buddha Monthon Foundation but never ended up there.
The arrest warrants had been approved by the Central Criminal Court for corruption and misconduct. About 100 investigating officers were involved in the operation. Arrested are the chairman of the Chanthaburi provincial government organization; the former director of the PAO’s Planning and Budget Office; the abbot of Wat Suthiwari, who is the sangha head of Soi Dao district and a member of Buddha Monthon’s Chanthaburi foundation and a construction contractor. Many missing documents and some documents have been confiscated by the police.
The investigation started this year when the investigating agency CIB received many complaints – requesting an investigation into the misappropriation of a fund provided by the PAO of Chanthaburi to support the Chanthaburi Buddha This Monthon Foundation was established in 2009. The tax fraud was used in the year 2011-2012. The suspects worked with false contracts and construction activities.
Chanthaburi Buddha Monthon was founded in 2009. It includes many buildings used for dhamma practice.
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