NACC indicts former Buddhism officials in temple fund cases

Thailand’s National Anti-Corruption Commission has found grounds for criminal and disciplinary action against former senior officials of the National Office of Buddhism in three major cases linked to the temple fund corruption scandal.

Surapong Intharathaworn, secretary-general of the NACC and spokesman for the agency, said on Friday (July 3) that the commission had reached resolutions in cases involving alleged misconduct in office, unlawful budget approvals and unusual wealth.

In the first case, the NACC found grounds against former National Office of Buddhism director Panom Sornsill and others over the alleged misuse of a 3-million-baht subsidy allocated to Wat Sitthisan Pradit in Tak Bai district, Narathiwat, for Buddhist religious activities in fiscal year 2015.

According to the NACC investigation, the temple had not submitted a request for the subsidy. However, official documents were allegedly prepared to state that the allocation followed a committee resolution, although no such meeting had taken place.

The NACC said Wat Sitthisan Pradit later received 2,999,970 baht and withdrew 2.3 million baht, which was allegedly passed through Satean Damrongkhadirat, also known as Surachet Charoenmettatham, to then deputy director Pranom Kongphikul.

The commission found grounds for criminal and serious disciplinary action. Some charges relating to false official documents were found to have expired under the statute of limitations.

The NACC also found grounds against Satean, or Surachet, as an alleged supporter of wrongdoing by state officials. Parts of the case against him were also ruled to have expired under the statute of limitations.

In the second case, the NACC found grounds against former National Office of Buddhism director Nopparat Benjawatananun and three others over the approval of subsidies for two temples overseas in fiscal years 2012 and 2013.

The case involved 3 million baht approved for Wat Thai Denmark Brahmavihara in Denmark in fiscal year 2012, followed by 2.5 million baht each for Wat Thai Denmark Brahmavihara and Wat Pa Buddhagaya in India in fiscal year 2013.

The NACC said the two temples were located outside Thailand and did not qualify as temples eligible for such subsidies under the relevant rules. The approvals caused damage of 8 million baht to the National Office of Buddhism, according to the commission.

The NACC found grounds for criminal and serious disciplinary action against Nopparat, Panom, Chalermpol Meesilarat and Wasawat Kittitheerasit.

In the third case, the NACC found that Wichai Thiprak, a former state official under the National Office of Buddhism, was unusually wealthy.

The investigation found that between 2012 and 2020, Wichai declared total personal income of 3,786,733.54 baht, but had assets that had increased unusually and could not be explained. The assets were held under his name and that of his spouse, Ratima Thiprak, and totalled 1,082,070.80 baht.

The assets included 306,000 baht in a bank account under Wichai’s name and 776,070.80 baht in a bank account under his spouse’s name.

The NACC resolved to forward the criminal cases to the attorney-general for prosecution and to notify relevant supervisors to proceed with disciplinary action.

For the unusual wealth case, the commission will ask the attorney-general to petition the Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases to order the assets to be transferred to the state. It will also notify the relevant authority to dismiss Wichai within 60 days, treating the case as corruption in office.

The NACC also instructed the National Office of Buddhism to pursue compensation for damage caused to the state.