KCUC members reject temple money compromise

KCUC members reject temple money compromise

Thamnoon Attachote, right, who represents Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative victims, meets Paisit Wongmuang, director-general of the Department of Special Investigation, at the department's head office in Bangkok on Wednesday. (Photo by Pornprom Satrabhaya)
Thamnoon Attachote, right, who represents Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative victims, meets Paisit Wongmuang, director-general of the Department of Special Investigation, at the department's head office in Bangkok on Wednesday. (Photo by Pornprom Satrabhaya)

Depositors who lost their savings in the Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative embezzlement have opposed a "soft" settlement with Wat Phra Dhammakaya which received more than 1 billion baht of their money.

Representing the KCUC depositors, Thamnoon Attachote and about 100 cooperative members met the chief of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) on Wednesday to express opposition to the settlement plan. The DSI is still investigating the 20-billion-baht embezzlement at KCUC and the transfer of its money to the controversial temple and its abbot and monks.

The DSI has accused the abbot, Phra Dhammajayo, with laundering money and receiving stolen property. The abbot is refusing to meet officials to answer charges against him.

Mr Thamnoon said depositors opposed the settlement between the KCUC management and the temple because it seemed to protect wrongdoers. The temple raised the stolen money and returned it on condition that KCUC withdraw all complaints against it, he said.

He said the money stolen from the cooperative had been invested in a profitable land sale and it was not right to return only the principal to KCUC.

DSI director-general Paisit Wongmuang said the KCUC members should also consider the connection between the cooperative and the temple as Supachai Srisuppa-aksorn, KCUC's former chairman who had illegally transferred the cooperative's money to the temple, was once the treasurer of Wat Phra Dhammakaya.

Justice Minister Paiboon Koomchaya said on Wednesday that justice authorities would try to retrieve the embezzled money for the victims who had lost their life savings.

Ong-art Thamnitha, a spokesman of the temple's followers, said Supachai had given 1.05 billion baht to the temple and its abbot, and the followers had raised that amount in return to repay them. In response KCUC, which was the damaged party, had agreed to end all criminal and civil complaints against the temple and the abbot, he said.

He said the followers would raise 400 million baht more and return it to the cooperative if the DSI's report on additional money transfers from KCUC to the temple proved to be true.

The temple was the only party that had tried to return stolen money. Many other suspects had not, Mr Ong-art said. KCUC has filed civil suits against some 30 others who had received money from it.

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