🧘‍♂️ Monk Gone Rogue? Thai Abbot Busted for Embezzlement & Money Laundering!

 

📍 Location: Lopburi, Thailand

📆 Date of Arrest: August 25

👤 Main Character: Luang Phor Alongkot (a.k.a. Wisutthiprachanat)



Once hailed as a compassionate monk with a heart of gold, now possibly a monk with a wallet full of... question marks?

💰 The Accusation:

Alongkot, the 65-year-old abbot of Wat Phra Bat Namphu, was arrested for:

  • Embezzlement 🕵️‍♂️

  • Misuse of donated funds 💸

  • Money laundering 🧼💰
    (And nope, he wasn’t just washing robes.)

🏥 His Claim to Fame:

Back in 1992, Alongkot earned respect for opening a care facility for HIV/AIDS patients—a safe haven for those abandoned by their families. He became something of a national humanitarian hero.

😬 Fast-Forward to 2025:

  • Suspicions of financial mischief started swirling.

  • Alongkot resigned as abbot "voluntarily" (translation: the heat was on).

  • Then came the dramatic monk-down:
    👕 He was defrocked
    👮‍♂️ Hauled off to Bangkok's Crime Suppression Division
    🙅 He denied everything

Bonus twist: his former fundraising buddy, Seksan Sapsubbsakul, also got busted. Birds of a feather... fundraise together?

🧘‍♂️ But Seriously...

Authorities say Alongkot is cooperating with the investigation.
Despite his fall from grace, his AIDS care center was once considered a model of compassion and innovation.
Over time, the center expanded into broader healthcare and educational projects—but apparently, the books didn’t quite balance.

📝 The Moral of the Story?

Even monks should keep their karma (and their accounts) clean.


VanChat (source: AP, Bangkok Post)

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