Abbot duped into giving corrupt NBO official Bt13m: lawyer

[webfact]

Abbot duped into giving corrupt NBO official Bt13m: lawyer
By Samrit Jeamjaroenpornkul,
Supachai Petchtewee
The Nation

 

File photo

 

AYUTTHAYA: -- THE abbot of Phananchoeng Temple in Ayutthaya province has been duped into giving Bt13 million to an allegedly corrupt senior official at the National Buddhism Office (NBO) and her alleged accomplice, his legal adviser said yesterday.

 

Somsak Toraksa, a legal adviser for abbot Phra Dhamma Rattanamongkhon, said the monk was told the money would go to poorer monasteries. 

 

“He did so upon the instructions of Pranom Kongpikul, the head of the Buddhist Monastery Division,” he said. “She had assured him that everything was legal. She said the money would be used to help other temples.” 

 

Somsak said Pranom contacted Phra Dhamma Rattanamongkhon in 2013, offering to request Bt10 million in funds for renovation of the temple in exchange for his promise that he would hand over Bt8 million to help cash-strapped temples. 

 

She made a similar offer in late 2014, requesting a Bt5-million share for other temples from a further Bt10 million in funding.

 

The abbot transferred Bt8 million to Chompunuch Janruechai’s bank account and Bt5 million to Pranom’s account in 2014, based on Pranom’s instruction, Somsak said. 

 

The abbot has started legal action against Pranom after information suggested she did not give the money to other temples, Somsak said. “If we get this amount of money back from her, we will hand it back to the NBO,” he said. 

 

The NBO is involved in a scandal as some officials have allegedly embezzled money from the state budget for temple renovations. 

Mit Suwanrat, a senior official at the Auditor-General’s Office, has said the investigation would have to expand to include thousands of temples across the country because available evidence suggested several officials at the NBO may have engaged in corrupt practices for years. 

 

Probes suggest some NBO officials allegedly demanded that portions of the temple-renovation budget should be returned. The losses to the state were estimated at Bt60 million.

 

Counter-Corruption Division chief Pol Maj General Kamol Rienracha said yesterday that corruption money had changed hands.

“We will pore over the financial flow. Any person implicated will be charged with money laundering,” he said. 

 

He said his division’s investigation would cover between 60 and 70 temples across the country, and the Anti-Money Laundering Office would be asked to check the financial transactions and assets of suspects.

 

Kamol said his division would not take action against temples in Chumphon province that have already been investigated by the National Anti-Corruption Commission. 

 

About 26 temples in Chumphon received a renovation budget and at least four agreed to demands to return some of the cash. It remains unclear whether these four temples colluded in the corruption or were simply duped into returning part of the money. 

 

Chumphon’s monastic chief Phra Ratchawijit Patipan said monks and temples were unlikely to know the officials’ tricks. “These officials come from the NBO,” he said. 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30319294

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-06-28

 

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

Maybe the robbed Abbot should read this page: http://www.budsas.org/ebud/ebsut018.htm

Especially the following part: On Monks and Money

Buddhist monks (bhikkhus) and nuns (bhikkhunis) are not allowed to accept money for themselves. Nor are they allowed to tell a trustworthy layperson to receive it on their behalf and keep it for them (e.g. keeping a personal bank account). Such practices are explicitly prohibited in the 18th rule of the section of Vinaya called Nissaggiya Pacittiya.

Nor may monks or nuns buy and sell things for themselves using money. This is prohibited by the 19th rule in the Nissaggiya Pacittiya.

 

 

[ezzra]

No sacred cows in this country, everybody is cheating everybody else,

from the highest position's holders to man in the street,

even abbots and temples are fair game, you have a pile of money

and you're a bit gullible and trusting? someone will come along soon

to relive you of it... 

[colinneil]

Well it makes a change, a monk being scammed, usually it is monks doing the scamming.

He probably scammed the money from people anyway.

A scammer being scammed, priceless.

[clockman]

The temples, no audit, no accountability, Just men in orange robes. What a perfect place for money laundering? And robbing the poor.!

[stereolab]

39 minutes ago, clockman said:

The temples, no audit, no accountability, Just men in orange robes. What a perfect place for money laundering? And robbing the poor.!

If they lost that amount of money, how much was actually left in the account.?

[Get Real]

4 hours ago, HiSoLowSoNoSo said:

Maybe the robbed Abbot should read this page: http://www.budsas.org/ebud/ebsut018.htm

Especially the following part: On Monks and Money

Buddhist monks (bhikkhus) and nuns (bhikkhunis) are not allowed to accept money for themselves. Nor are they allowed to tell a trustworthy layperson to receive it on their behalf and keep it for them (e.g. keeping a personal bank account). Such practices are explicitly prohibited in the 18th rule of the section of Vinaya called Nissaggiya Pacittiya.

Nor may monks or nuns buy and sell things for themselves using money. This is prohibited by the 19th rule in the Nissaggiya Pacittiya.

 

 

Just love this one! You made my day.

[Lupatria]

Robbers in robes. That would make a nice soap opera.

[Cadbury]

25 minutes ago, Lupatria said:

Robbers in robes. That would make a nice soap opera.

Or the PM could write a poem about it and read it to his adoring fans on Friday night TV.

Edited June 28, 2017 by Cadbury

[Bangkok Barry]

7 hours ago, HiSoLowSoNoSo said:

Maybe the robbed Abbot should read this page: http://www.budsas.org/ebud/ebsut018.htm

Especially the following part: On Monks and Money

Buddhist monks (bhikkhus) and nuns (bhikkhunis) are not allowed to accept money for themselves. Nor are they allowed to tell a trustworthy layperson to receive it on their behalf and keep it for them (e.g. keeping a personal bank account). Such practices are explicitly prohibited in the 18th rule of the section of Vinaya called Nissaggiya Pacittiya.

Nor may monks or nuns buy and sell things for themselves using money. This is prohibited by the 19th rule in the Nissaggiya Pacittiya.

 

 

 

You don't understand. There is Buddhism and there is Thai Buddhism, which bear little relation to each other. Thai temples are run as a business where no services are offered without a price tag. Naive people shower - flood - the temples with billions of baht each year and there is no accounting system in place. A while ago after yet another scandal there was a declaration that a system would be put in place but, well, you know.......

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

1 minute ago, Bangkok Barry said:

 

You don't understand. There is Buddhism and there is Thai Buddhism, which bear little relation to each other. Thai temples are run as a business where no services are offered without a price tag. Naive people shower - flood - the temples with billions of baht each year and there is no accounting system in place. A while ago after yet another scandal there was a declaration that a system would be put in place but, well, you know.......

My girlfriends father is a head monk at the local temple so I think I understand a little bit about their so called Buddhism has little to do with real Buddhism.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

7 hours ago, HiSoLowSoNoSo said:

Maybe the robbed Abbot should read this page: http://www.budsas.org/ebud/ebsut018.htm

Especially the following part: On Monks and Money

Buddhist monks (bhikkhus) and nuns (bhikkhunis) are not allowed to accept money for themselves. Nor are they allowed to tell a trustworthy layperson to receive it on their behalf and keep it for them (e.g. keeping a personal bank account). Such practices are explicitly prohibited in the 18th rule of the section of Vinaya called Nissaggiya Pacittiya.

Nor may monks or nuns buy and sell things for themselves using money. This is prohibited by the 19th rule in the Nissaggiya Pacittiya.

 

 

I would imagine, this guy and all the others like him would maintain they weren't accepting or holding money for themselves, as individual monks. Rather, they were accepting and holding funds for their temple, the institution. And they just happened to be in charge of and control how those funds were used / transferred, etc.

 

For me, the better question is, just how exactly did this monk and his temple have a spare 8M baht sitting around in their bank account to send to an official at the NBO. And for that matter, even if they had a good reason for having that much money, why would he knowingly transfer the funds to the PERSONAL ACCOUNTS of the NBO officials as opposed to the organization's account. That alone should have raised serious suspicions.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

3 hours ago, stereolab said:

If they lost that amount of money, how much was actually left in the account.?

Enough for Prada bags, sunglasses, jet travel, and at times, very expensive luxury import cars.

[Srikcir]

19 hours ago, webfact said:

Bt10 million in funds for renovation of the temple in exchange for his promise that he would hand over Bt8

So the deal is you send Bt8 million now and later I'll send you Bt10 million.

And the abbot claims he was "duped?"

 

[Retiredandhappyhere]

Is it time to despair of Thai Buddhism yet?

[Artisi]

41 minutes ago, Retiredandhappyhere said:

Is it time to despair of Thai Buddhism yet?

Thai and Buddhism should never be used together in any sentence or paragraph. 

[Stargeezr]

Find this corrupt NBO official and throw her sorry ass in jail where she belongs along with

her husbad and who ever else was with her when she took the money and ran.

Geezer