The Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct said the leaders’ actions had “severely harmed Buddhism”.
A statement from the Bangkok court said five monks and a driver had been detained since Thursday.
The men were detained in Wat Pa Thammakhiri in the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima when police carried out a raid on Tuesday and discovered assets worth about 100 million baht (2.7 million euros) allegedly hidden by the suspects.
The police said that money, jewelry and amulets were found in various places, including the monks’ private places, noting that some things were buried.
The first arrests related to the case took place last Friday, when police arrested the temple’s rector and noted monk, Kum Kong Kaew, on charges of stealing more than 180 million baht (4.8 million euros) from the site’s religious funds.
The court denied that Koum, her sister and the meteorological officer were released on bail on Monday, saying that after they were taken into custody, Koum had instructed the six detained defendants to hide valuables that have since been found by police.
The court considered that in the case of the nine suspects, there is a risk of flight, in addition to the possibility of tampering with evidence.
Officials said Watima Thumur, the head of the temple, told the police that Koum had advised the monks to use part of the stolen money to buy the jewellery.
Thumur, Kum and her sister were accused of misappropriating the donation money and taking money from the temple’s bank account and depositing it into the woman’s account, where the police found 130 million baht (3.5 million euros). Another 51 million baht (1.3 million euros) in cash was found at her home.
Some Buddhist temples in Thailand are extremely wealthy due to the contributions of their followers, who donate large sums of money to gain religious merit.
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