Thailand is investigating a fraud case involving a woman who deceived at least 12 senior Buddhist monks and temple abbots, extracting 385 million baht (approximately 1,885,000 USD), as reported by the Daily Star in July.
The scandal emerged in June when a well-known abbot from a central Bangkok temple abruptly resigned, severed family ties, and left Thailand. Investigation revealed he was blackmailed by a woman named Golf, with whom he had an affair.
The fraudster was identified as Vilawan Emsawat, who targeted numerous clergy members. Thailand’s Central Bureau of Investigation discovered that over three years, monks who had vowed celibacy transferred massive sums to her to conceal their liaisons. Authorities seized five smartphones from Emsawat, containing videos of her engaging in sexual acts with the monks.
The probe found Emsawat had only around 44,000 baht (approx. 1,350 USD) remaining in her accounts, most of the defrauded money having been squandered on online casino gambling.
One of Emsawat’s former partners is missing and has not reached out to either his family or the police.
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