The Supreme Patriarch has ordered transparent finances at Buddhist temples across Thailand, as police found billions of baht passing through the accounts of a woman allegedly receiving money from the former abbot of a well-known temple in Nakhon Pathom over the past years.
Booncherd Kittitrangkul, deputy director-general of the National Office of Buddhism (NOB), said on Thursday that the Supreme Patriarch had instructed the office to work out solutions relating to the scandal, and the office had also discussed the issue with the Sangha Supreme Council of Thailand.
According to Mr Booncherd, the council resolved to work with relevant government organisations and experts to set regulations on the management of temples' assets, which will be imposed on temples nationwide.
The council also decided that accounting at temples must meet legal and good governance standards and be accountable. The council will promote electronic channels for accounting and donations at temples.
In addition, the NOB will set up new divisions for temple affairs, legal issues and Supreme Patriarch police to thoroughly supervise the management of assets at temples, Mr Booncherd said.
This move by the Supreme Patriarch followed a scandal at Wat Rai Khing in Samphran district, Nakhon Pathom. The 70-year-old abbot, Yaem Inkrungkao, earlier known as Phra Thamma Wachiranuwat, was disrobed for alleged embezzlement. The case involved Aranyawan Wangthapan, a 28-year-old woman who used to live nearby.
Police initially estimated the embezzlement at about 300 million baht and believed the former abbot had spent it on online gambling, as the woman was suspected of representing gambling websites.
In the latest development, detectives have found transactions worth about 2 billion baht linked to her bank accounts, with evidence indicating that she spent money from Mr Yaem on gambling.
Pol Maj Gen Charoonkiat Pankaew, deputy commissioner of the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), said at a press conference on Thursday that officers examined 51 bank accounts of the temple and its foundations, 21 accounts of the former abbot and 12 accounts of Ms Aranyawan.
Since 2016, there were transactions worth about 2 billion baht through her accounts, the deputy commissioner said.
He said the woman received money directly from the ex-abbot and indirectly through his associates.
During the press conference, police played an audio clip of conversations between the former abbot and the woman. The clip indicated that the woman demanded 2 million baht from him to repay her gambling debt. Data from his phone did not show that he gambled.
Pol Maj Gen Charoonkiat said Ms Aranyawan had lived near Wat Rai Khing since her childhood and also studied at Wat Rai Khing School.
When she entered secondary education, she participated in voluntary activities at the temple and met the then abbot, who promised to help her whenever needed.
She first borrowed about 60,000 baht from him, and over time, their relationship developed, including sexual phone exchanges.
"Since then, money started to flow out of the temple's accounts," Pol Maj Gen Charoonkiat said.
Their conversations about financial support began in 2020 and continued until late last year when the former abbot criticised her gambling habits. Mr Yaem told her that the temple was running out of money, and he had no one to else to borrow from, according to the CIB official.
Police take Aranyawan Wangthapan to a detention facility on May 17, 2025. (Photo supplied)