Supachai Srisupa-aksorn, convicted of fraud in the 12-billion-baht Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative embezzlement case, admitted to having a close relationship with Phra Dhammajayo, who has been accused of laundering money and receiving stolen property, authorities said.
The revelation was made in Supachai's surprising cooperation with authorities from the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) and the Department of Special Investigation, who met him at the Bangkwang Central Prison in Nonthaburi province on Tuesday to inform him of an additional charge.
The authorities had earlier expected the meeting to last two hours. The session actually continued for more than six hours as Supachai, former chairman of the cooperative, decided to answer interrogators' questions right away although he was not legally bound to do so.
Supachai Srisupa-aksorn
In March, Supachai, 58, pleaded guilty in the Criminal Court to charges of the 12-billion-baht embezzlement case and his jail sentence was thus halved to 16 years.
On Tuesday, he was additionally charged with money-laundering for signing cheques for Phra Dhammajayo, abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya.
After meeting Supachai, public prosecutor Khajornsak Phutthanupharp said Supachai acknowledged the charge, made a partial confession and gave useful information, especially on his close relationship with Phra Dhammajayo when he had been the treasurer of Wat Phra Dhammakaya.
They had nicknames which were only known to them and used to call each other and Supachai had access to the abbot's residence, Mr Khajornsak said.
That pointed to a close relationship but the information was inconsistent with the accounts given by Wat Phra Dhammakaya, which had earlier denied any close relationship, Mr Khajornsak said.
Authorities would question Supachai again as his information was useful for many other cases and several more people were allegedly involved in the wrongdoing, he said.
Phra Dhammajayo
Mr Khajornsak also said that if Phra Dhammajayo failed to meet interrogators to acknowledge charges on the deadline this Thursday, a search warrant would be requested and an arrest warrant would be shown.
If the abbot followed rules, he would have the right to seek a temporary release, he said.
Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative, Thailand's once-richest cooperative, was founded about three decades ago. It lured customers into depositing money by using false accounts to hide its losses. Many members were the elderly who put their entire life savings there.
Still trying not to meet interrogators, Phra Dhammajayo, 72, was charged with money laundering and receiving stolen property when he accepted cheques worth hundreds of millions of baht drawn on the cooperative by Supachai.
