Former Monk in Thailand Accused of Money Laundering and Sexual Misconduct While in Monastery

A 39-year-old former monk in Thailand was accused of money laundering 180 million baht and was recently prosecuted by the prosecution. Further investigation by the police found that he still had sex while he was a monk, and the way of money laundering was also exposed.

According to the “Bangkok Post” report, the former monk nicknamed Ke Mu (Phra Ajarn Khom Abhivaro), he is a well-known meditation master and has many well-known followers, but he only left the monkhood on the 1st of this month. He was arrested after returning to secular life.

The whole incident started because Thailand’s National Office of Buddhism (NOB) suspected that the monk took donations from believers for his own use, and asked the police to assist in the investigation. The police investigation found that the abbot of the temple, who was also an accomplice, received the donation and first passed it on to Ke Mu’s sister.

The Thai police said that Kom’s sister deposited the money into Kom’s bank account after receiving the money, and other cash donations totaling 51 million baht were stored in her suitcase at home, and the cash was confiscated by the police. In addition, the investigation also uncovered another 130 million baht transaction in which Kom took a cut of a temple donation, misappropriating a total of at least 180 million baht in temple donations.

The police said that Kom embezzled at least 180 million baht from the temple in total. Apart from being involved in corruption, Kom continued to have sex while he was a monk. Kom was arrested along with two others on charges of laundering 180 million baht from Nakhon Ratchasima, where the monk lives.