Overview

• Wilawan Emsawat was detained in Nonthaburi on July 16 and charged with extortion, money laundering, and receiving stolen property under Thailand’s Penal Code.
• Police say she used more than 80,000 sexually explicit photos and videos to blackmail at least nine senior monks into transferring roughly 385 million baht over three years.
• Investigators report that most of the extorted funds were lost to online gambling platforms with individual bets reaching up to 500,000 baht.
• King Vajiralongkorn has revoked royal titles of 81 implicated monks and the Supreme Sangha Council will form a commission to review monastic discipline.
• Thai authorities have announced tougher penalties for clergy misconduct, stricter oversight of temple finances and launched new channels for reporting monk misconduct.