OAG sends back police file on abbot

The Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) has set back its decision on whether to indict Phra Dhammajayo in connection with financial fraud, saying more thorough investigation reports are needed.

The OAG, which earlier set yesterday as the date to announce its decision, said it would prefer to wait for more details regarding the case from the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), which has found alleged irregularities surrounding Wat Phra Dhammakaya’s abbot and has accused the monk of being involved in money laundering and receiving stolen property.

The money is believed to be linked to the multi-billion-baht embezzlement scandal in which Supachai Srisupa-akson, former chairman of Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative, was convicted of siphoning money from his organisation.

A need for additional DSI reports, along with the complexity of the case and the great number of documents in the Phra Dhammajayo case are factors behind the delay, OAG spokesman Somnuek Siangkong said yesterday. The new date when the OAG is expected to announce its decision is Oct 6. “But if prosecutors are still not ready, we may need to postpone it again,” he added.

He played down concerns over the delays because the statute of limitations for the case is still far away. Lt Somnuek declined to unveil the further details in the case which the prosecution requires from the DSI, as it could affect the investigation.

Earlier, the DSI was asked to conduct a probe into financial trails and their links to monks at Wat Phra Dhammakaya.

According to the DSI’s initial investigation, cashier’s cheques worth millions of baht were paid by Supachai to Phra Dhammajayo and his associates, including monks, and a foundation for Buddhist nuns.

In March this year, the Criminal Court found Supachai guilty of embezzlement and sentenced him to 16 years in jail. However, attempts to take action against Phra Dhammajayo have made slow progress.