The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) has assigned the Anti-Corruption Division (ACD) to work with the National Office of Buddhism (NOB) to put an end to financial crimes and sexual misconduct by monks.
The recent downfall of a well-known monk has again exposed a darker reality beneath the serene surface of Thai Buddhism: monks' sexual misconduct and the theft of temple funds.
Police have arrested five monks and a driver of Wat Pa Dhammakiri in Pak Chong district of Nakhon Ratchasima province for their alleged involvement in a 300-million-baht embezzlement scandal. The case involves a former high-profile monk Phra Ajarn Khom, now known as Khom Khongkaeo.
Police have found more money and gold bullion worth about 100 million baht buried behind Phra Ajarn Khom's temple in Nakhon Ratchasima province, raising his alleged embezzlement to almost 300 million baht.