Then they searched the former abbot’s quarters and found more than THB 138 million in cash, together with gold and jewellery. According to the Central Investigation Bureau, the cash and gold alone were worth around THB 205 million. Investigators also identified more than THB 290 million in bank deposits linked to the former abbot.
So let me understand this correctly. Police start looking for THB 92 million and suddenly they are looking at assets and money approaching half a billion baht?
Of course, the investigation is ongoing and allegations still have to be proven in court. But surely we are allowed to ask a very simple question: How can this still happen?
Thailand does not have a donation problem
Thai people are incredibly generous. Making merit is deeply rooted in Thai culture, and every day people put money into temple donation boxes, transfer money to temple projects, sponsor buildings, support monks and contribute to charities connected with temples.
Most people do this without asking for anything in return. They simply trust that the money will be used for the purpose for which they gave it.
And that, for me, is exactly the point. The money is important, but the trust behind the money is even more important.
Unfortunately, this is certainly not the first temple scandal involving very large amounts of money. We have seen Wat Rai Khing, Wat Phra Bat Nam Phu and several other cases over the years. Different temples, different circumstances and different people, but somehow we keep ending up with the same question: Who is actually watching the money?
Why make this so complicated?
Perhaps I am thinking too simply, but Thailand has excellent banks, professional auditors and internationally respected accounting firms. So why aren't professionals put in charge of the financial side of temple donations?
I am not suggesting accountants should run temples. Quite the opposite. Let monks look after Buddhism and let professional accountants look after the money.
Imagine one proper nationwide system. Every registered temple has official accounts. Every donation received is recorded. Payments require proper authorisation. Large expenditures need documentation. Annual accounts are independently audited and a simple financial summary is available to the public.
Money in, money out, money remaining. Where was it spent? What assets does the temple own? How much went to charitable work? How much went into maintenance and construction?
We manage companies this way every day. It really isn't rocket science.
Professional accounting would also protect the monks
There is another side to this which I think deserves much more attention. Thailand has tens of thousands of monks, and the overwhelming majority should obviously not be judged because of a handful of spectacular scandals.
A professional financial system would actually protect honest monks.
If the money is independently administered, audited and reported, there is far less room for temptation, misunderstanding, accusations or people quietly helping themselves to funds they should never have controlled personally in the first place.
That is not an attack on Buddhism. In my view, it is exactly the opposite. It protects Buddhism from unnecessary scandal.
The amounts are simply too big
Thailand has already introduced stronger accounting requirements for temples, including tighter controls over bank accounts, withdrawals, record keeping and annual financial reporting. That is a good start.
But having rules and actually controlling billions of baht properly are two different things.
Research frequently quoted in Thailand has estimated annual temple donations at around THB 54 billion. Think about that for a moment. We are not talking about a few donation boxes with loose change anymore. We are talking about a very substantial amount of money entrusted by ordinary people to religious institutions every year.
At that level, independent professional financial management should not be considered disrespectful to religion. It should be considered protection of religion.
This is really about trust
I have lived in Thailand for nearly 30 years and I have enormous respect for the role Buddhism plays in Thai society. That is precisely why these stories bother me.
When somebody puts THB 20 into a donation box, that person is showing trust. The same applies when someone donates THB 20,000, THB 2 million or perhaps an entire piece of land to a temple.
They believe they are doing something good.
Surely the system should be strong enough to guarantee that the money actually reaches the place where the donor intended it to go.
Thailand does not need people becoming suspicious of every monk or every temple. It needs a professional system that removes the reason for suspicion in the first place.
So perhaps the solution really can be kept very simple.
Monks look after Buddhism. Accountants look after the money.
Faith is sacred, but when billions of baht are involved every year, proper independent accounting should simply come with the territory.
After all, merit deserves a proper audit too.