The alleged embezzler of about 190 million baht intended for the renovation of Wat Bowonniwet Vihara has denied the charge, claiming the money was given to him as as a "gift", Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) commissioner Pol Lt Gen Jirapop Puridet said on Monday.
The suspect was arrested by Crime Suppression Division police on March 23 at a condominium in Bangkok after CSD investigators discovered evidence of embezzlement of funds intended for the renovation of Wat Bowonniwet Vihara, which is in Phra Nakhon district of Bangkok, and its branch temples.
The man was a close acquaintance of the late Somdet Phra Wannarat, the abbot of Wat Bowonniwet Vihara.
