The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) is investigating if recipients of 878 cheques, worth more than 11 billion baht, from scandal-hit Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative (KCUC) committed offences related to money laundering and receipt of stolen property.
Dhammachayo: Under suspicion
The cheques involved in the investigation were paid by the KCUC and authorised by the cooperative's chairman Supachai Srisupa-aksorn, suspected of siphoning money from the organisation.
The DSI has divided the recipients into seven groups, including the Wat Phra Dhammakaya network.
Based on prior investigations, 21 cheques worth about 1.2 billion baht were paid to the temple's network. This included 350 million baht paid to the temple, 435 million baht to the temple's abbot, Phra Dhammachayo, 100 million baht to Phra Wiratch, 119 million baht to Phra Kru Palat Wijarn and 100 million baht to Phra Montree.
Pol Lt Col Pakorn Sucheevakun, director of the Bureau of Financial and Banking Crime, who leads the DSI team investigating the KCUC embezzlement scandal and its links to Wat Phra Dhammakaya, said the investigation is nearly complete, though some witnesses still have to be brought in for questioning.
The investigators will convene on Tuesday to consider whether the cheques' recipients were implicated in money laundering and receiving stolen property, particularly those without loan links to KCUC, said Pol Lt Col Pakorn.
The investigation should wrap up by the end of this month, he said.
According to a source in the investigation, Phra Dhammachayo and other monks in the temple's network were found to have obtained KCUC money, though they did not have any loan links to the KCUC.
DSI deputy chief Somboon Sarasit said investigators are working to determine why the money had to be paid to the recipients and whether they had known in advance that the money was embezzled from the KCUC.
Pol Lt Col Somboon said he had invited the director-general of the Office of the Attorney General's (OAG) Department of Investigation to assist in the probe, which should give assurances the investigation would be thorough.
According to the DSI deputy chief, the DSI had forwarded investigation reports on the three cases involving the KCUC to prosecutors.
The first involves embezzlement charges against Mr Supachai and others, he said, adding the prosecutors had asked the DSI to add the charge of theft.
The second case concerns a fraud charge against Mr Supachai and the KCUC's then financial manager and credit staff member.
The case was based on complaints filed by KCUC members who had previously stated they were lured to deposit their money with the cooperative because its annual report indicated the organisation had made hefty profits every year, though it actually suffered losses stretching from 2009-2012.
The prosecutors are considering whether to indict the suspects on the charge.
The final case concerns Mr Supachai's charge for allegedly embezzling 27 million baht from the KCUC. The prosecutors have indicted him in this case, and the first hearing will be held next month.