Today, a former acting abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya visited the office of the prosecutor to acknowledge a charge against him: defying an order of the National Council for Peace and Order.
Phra Dattajivo, 77, reported to the Thanyaburi office of the prosecution to hear his charge. He was summoned last month, but much like the evasive former Dhammakaya abbot Phra Dhammachayo, ignored the summons until now.
He made no comments to the press and would not confirm if he knew the whereabouts of the former abbot, who is wanted on charges of money-laundering, reported Bangkok Post.
Phra Dattajivo’s lawyer said that a March 28 meeting has been scheduled for Dattajivo and Phra Maha Somchai, another monk from the same temple who also acknowledged the same charge. At the upcoming meeting, the two monks will learn if they will be indicted.
Officials suspect Dattajivo of spending about THB1 billion in embezzled funds from Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative. He allegedly used the funds to play the stock market, using nominee names on the transactions, between 2010 to 2016.
Dattajivo was stripped of his robes on March 8 for the suspected actions as well as for harboring former abbot Dhammachayo.
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