Luxury cars, land seized from disgraced Thai monk

Thailand has seized nearly USD 800,000 worth of assets, including a Porsche and a Mercedes-Benz, from a monk who was disrobed for a controversial trip in a private jet, authorities today.
Thailand's Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) said Wiraphon Sukphon was suspected of deceiving people to give him donations.
"Monks can receive donations and must use them for the benefit of the public, not for private use and their own personal comforts," Police Colonel Seehanat Prayoonrat, secretary of the AMLO, told AFP.
Wiraphon went by the name Luang Pu Nen Kham to bolster his claims to be the reincarnation of a famous miracle-performing monk.

The disgraced cleric, who is believed to be abroad, is also being sought in Thailand on suspicion of having sex with an underage girl around a decade ago while he was a monk, and of fathering a child with her
The seized assets were worth a total of 24 million baht (USD 770,000), according to the AMLO.

They include 12.8 million baht of real estate as well as three cars, a Harley-Davidson motorbike, a Vespa scooter and more than 200,000 baht in 14 bank accounts.
Wiraphon caused a scandal earlier this year in Buddhist-majority Thailand after footage emerged of him with two other monks travelling in a private jet, wearing sunglasses and carrying a Louis Vuitton luxury bag.

He has since been investigated on suspicion of an array of offences including tax evasion, drug possession and money-laundering.
Thai monks have been hit by a series of scandals, with local media reporting cases of drug-taking, drinking, gambling and visiting prostitutes.