B100m assets seized from alleged embezzler of temple funds

A worshipper attends a royally-sponsored bathing rite in front of a picture of the late Somdet Phra Wannarat, on March 17, 2022 at Wat Bowonniwet Vihara. The revered monk died of gall bladder cancer on March 15. (Photo: Pornprom Satrabhaya)

Crime Suppression Division (CSD) police have seized assets worth about 100 million baht from a man alleged to have embezzled about 190 million baht of funds intended for the renovation of Wat Bowonniwet Vihara and its branch temples, a police source said.

The embezzlement occurred while the temple's revered abbot, the late Somdet Phra Wannarat, was receiving treatment for gall bladder cancer at Chulalongkorn Hospital. He died on March 15.