Temple set to petition Amlo to unfreeze accounts

Wat Phra Dhammakaya will petition the Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo) to cancel an order freezing the temple’s assets and those of its abbot Phra Dhammajayo worth over 50 million baht.

Ong-at Thamnitha, spokesman for a group of temple supporters, said the money, deposited in four of the temple’s bank accounts, was frozen on suspicion it is linked to cheques paid to Phra Dhammajayo in connection with the multi-billion baht Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative (KCUC) embezzlement.

Amlo said the four bank accounts had to be seized for inspection because money in the accounts included donations from KCUC chairman Supachai Srisupa-aksorn to Phra Dhammajayo between 2009 and 2010, said Mr Ong-at.

Amlo announced it would freeze the accounts after the abbot and others linked to the temple were accused of money laundering and receiving stolen assets in connection to the embezzlement case.

As for Amlo’s decision to inspect land owned by a branch of Wat Phra Dhammakaya in Kanchanaburi province today, Mr Ong-at said Nithas Prasertnetikul, the temple’s lawyer, had prepared evidence to make the case against the money laundering allegations.

Wat Tham Neramit, a branch of Wat Phra Dhammakaya in Si Sawat district of the province, was seized for allegedly encroaching on forest reserve, said Mr Ong-at.

The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has summoned Phra Thada Jaranatharo, president of the Thammachat Phisut foundation in Tak’s Ungphang district over the encroachment allegations, he added.

Meanwhile, ex-commerce minister Banyin Tangpakorn, who has been charged with the premeditated murder of businessman Chuwong Sae Tang, yesterday raised questions over the legality of Saturday’s raids at the houses of golf caddie Kanthana Siwathanapol in Nonthaburi and former financial broker Uracha Wachirakulton in Bangkok.

The authorities confiscated the houses of the two women worth a total of 15 million baht and a Porsche sedan from Ms Uracha’s house worth 6 million baht.

The women face charges of embezzlement in connection with the suspicious transfer of shares owned by Chuwong to their own accounts. Chuwong was killed in a car crash in which Pol Lt Col Banyin was the driver last year.

Police suspected foul play when it turned out the businessman’s shares worth 260 million baht were transferred to the accounts of Ms Uracha’s mother Srithana Promma and Ms Kanthana.

Pol Lt Col Banyin said he suspected the raids exceeded police authority and were motivated by politics.

He called on Amlo to inspect the documents which Crime Suppression Division police submitted to it to see whether the reasons cited to justify the raids correspond to the charges which Amlo is investigating.

The authorities earlier raided the houses on July 7 but could not seize the assets because they didn’t have the authority. This time they sought help from Amlo to legitimise the operation, he said.