ABOVE: Devotees at the embattled Dhammakaya sect gathered outside Bangkok on March 4 to observe the Makha Bucha festival. Photo: Nicholas Asfouri / AFP
A Buddhist temple at the heart of a bitter corruption scandal agreed Monday to return donations worth THB684 million in a case that has prompted calls for greater scrutiny over religious institutions in the kingdom.
The Dhammakaya temple, a vast ultra-modern complex near Bangkok considered one of the richest monasteries in the kingdom, will repay the funds donated by the former chairman of Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative after he was accused of embezzlement.
“We have agreed to return 684 million baht (USD20.7 million) to be paid in six instalments between March and August (to the cooperative),” Samphan Sermcheep, a lawyer for the temple, told AFP.
That was a complete reversal from one week ago, when Samphan said the temple would not return any of the money.
He added that, in exchange, the cooperative – a financial institution based on the outskirts of Bangkok – had agreed not to file any criminal charges against the temple, which has denied all knowledge of any unethical sourcing of donations.
The repayments “will come from donations from people who have faith in Dhammakaya,” he said.
Justice Minister Paiboon Koomchaya however said the Department of Special Investigations must go ahead with its investigation into billions beleived embezzled from the Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative, Bangkok Post reports, despite Dhammakaya’s move.
The scandal has outraged many in the Buddhist-majority nation in recent weeks, raising concerns over how temples raise donations and the commercialisation of Buddhism.
The case has also shone a spotlight on the practice of encouraging devotees, who believe in reincarnation, to make donations proportional to the size of good fortune they hope to achieve in their next life – sparking calls for authorities to better regulate religious institutions.
Story: AFP, Coconuts Bangkok
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