Former Buddhist Affairs Chief Charged Over Temple Kickback Scheme
Former National Office of Buddhism director Panom Srasil was charged with embezzling 2.3 million baht in temple subsidy funds in Narathiwat, with the NACC finding he and associates created fake committee approvals to allocate money to templ
On July 3, 2025, the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) found former National Office of Buddhism Director Panom Srasil and associates guilty of embezzling subsidy funds intended for Buddhist activities at Wat Sittisarn Prasit in Takling District, Narathiwat, during the 2015 fiscal year.
In 2015, Panom Srasil ordered the formation of a committee to allocate subsidy funds for Buddhism promotion projects, with himself as advisor and Deputy Director Pranomm Kongpikul as committee chair. The committee was tasked with reviewing criteria and disbursing funds to Buddhist institutions.
Provincial Buddhism Office Director Sathian Damrangkadirat coordinated with Narathiwat's chief monk to compile a list of temples interested in hosting Buddhist holiday events. However, there was a hidden condition: temples receiving funds would have to return a portion to the central office.
Wat Sittisarn Prasit, which had never applied for support, was allocated 3 million baht. The NACC discovered the committee never actually met. Instead, the allocation was processed through backdated meeting minutes prepared by Pattana Suammatmontri, with Pranomm's direction, and approved by Panom Srasil without proper authorization procedures.
After receiving 2,999,970 baht, the temple was pressured to withdraw 2.3 million baht, which was passed to Sathian and eventually to Pranomm. Following Sathian's arrest in a related case involving temple kickbacks across three southern border provinces, Pranomm returned cash to authorities for restitution.
The NACC charged Panom Srasil with both criminal and serious disciplinary violations. Pranomm Kongpikul, Prasang Chakkam, and Pattana Suammatmontri face criminal and serious disciplinary charges. Some charges against certain officials were dismissed due to statute of limitations. Sathian and Surachet Charoenmettatham were found guilty of supporting state officials in wrongdoing and serious disciplinary violations.
