The Criminal Court on Tuesday handed down a 10-year jail sentence to Apirat Jayankura Na Ayudhya, a close aide of the late abbot of Wat Bowon Niwet, for forgery to embezzle 80 million baht from the temple's accounts.
The court also ordered Apirat to return the money to the temple, plus interest.
The ruling was delivered at the Criminal Court on Ratchadaphisek Road at 9.30am in response to a lawsuit filed by prosecutors and the temple's acting abbot against Apirat.
According to the suit, the alleged theft occurred between 2021 and 2022 when the suspect lied to the monk, claiming he needed money to pay for temple repairs and workers' wages.
The Crown Property Bureau transferred 78.5 million baht to the temple's account, which was intended to build Wat Wachira Thamma Ram in Ayutthaya, one of Wat Bowon Niwet's branches, among other projects.
The money was placed in the temple's saving account to earn interest, and the amount later grew to 80.1 million baht.
After obtaining the late abbot's authorisation, Apirat withdrew the money and transferred it to his personal accounts.
The theft came to light after Somdej Phra Wannarat died on March 15 last year, and the temple's committee filed a complaint with police accusing Apirat of embezzling more than 190 million baht from the temple in Phra Nakhon district of Bangkok and its branches upcountry.
Apirat was arrested on March 23 last year at a condominium in Bangkok, and the Anti-Money Laundering Office seized 14 assets worth 92 million baht linked to Apirat and four others, including condominiums worth 21 million baht, a Bentley car valued at 15 million baht, a Porsche worth 6.9 million baht and a 3.1-million-baht Tesla.
On Tuesday, the court found him guilty of two counts of forgery and handed him a combined 10-year sentence with an order to return the 80 million baht.
