Thai anti-corruption police entered Wat Phutthaisawan (วัดพุทไธศวรรย์) in Ayutthaya at around 6am on 10 September 2026 and arrested its abbot, Phra Wachirayan (พระวชิรญาณ, ordained name Atichote Thammawaro), known to collectors as Phra Ajarn Chote or Luang Por Chote. He is credited by Thai media as the originator of the temple's famous Nuea Duang (เหนือดวง) Jatukam Ramathep coin. Police accuse him of embezzling more than 92 million baht in temple funds, malfeasance in office, and conspiracy to launder money. By around noon the same day he had been disrobed inside the temple's ordination hall and taken to the Central Investigation Bureau as a layman.
The allegations: 92 million baht and 20-plus donation certificates
The arrest was made under warrant 29/2569, issued on 8 September by the Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases, Region 1. The charges are embezzlement by a state official, malfeasance or dereliction of duty by a state official, and conspiracy to launder money. According to police statements quoted across Thai outlets, investigators have so far traced losses of more than 92 million baht, moved out under more than 20 anumothana donation certificates (ใบอนุโมทนาบัตร) issued in the temple's name.
A 47-year-old woman, Punyawee, was arrested under a separate warrant, 30/2569, issued the same day. She faces charges of aiding embezzlement by a state official, aiding malfeasance, and conspiracy to launder money. Police say temple funds passed through her accounts before being converted and concealed under other people's names, and that they hold CCTV footage from the abbot's living quarters relating to sexual misconduct.
All of the above remains at the stage of police accusation and investigation. No court has issued a verdict.
Arrest to disrobing in half a day
After searching the temple and seizing evidence, police brought in the deputy provincial sangha chief, Phra Wachirapas (Pradist Thaniko), to preside over the disrobing at around noon. The process took roughly 30 minutes inside the ordination hall. The deputy chief told reporters the former abbot gave up monastic status voluntarily, which he described as an acknowledgment of what he had done, and said the sangha had received no prior complaints about financial or sexual misconduct. Buddhism, he added, continues to rest on the Buddha's teachings; conduct is a personal matter.
Public records put his birth at 21 November 1959, making him 66. He was ordained at Wat Phutthaisawan on 22 January 1997, became abbot in 2022, and received the ecclesiastical title Phra Wachirayan in 2024. That title lapses with the disrobing.
Why collectors know his name
Wat Phutthaisawan dates to 1353 and was elevated to royal temple status on 23 June 2006. To mark the elevation, and the 60th anniversary of King Bhumibol's accession, the temple issued the Nuea Duang coin, a Jatukam Ramathep amulet whose name means roughly to rise above one's fate. Ajarn Chote led the first consecration at the temple's Jatukam shrine on 15 August 2006. Market references put the mintage at 25,000 copper pieces and 6,555 lead pieces.
That release landed squarely inside the 2006-2007 Jatukam Ramathep boom, which is why Nuea Duang became his signature work. His Khun Paen output also has a steady following abroad; see our Khun Paen version comparison and the dedicated background piece on Phra Ajarn Chote and his Jatukam amulets.
What this means for collectors
An amulet that has already been consecrated does not change religiously because of what later happens to the monk who made it. That is the long-standing view inside the Thai amulet world. Secondary market pricing is a separate question, and the two should not be conflated.
Expect the market to split in the short term. Scandal coverage tends to lift trading volume first, then push institutional buyers and serious collectors away as the case develops. The 2006-2007 pieces are anchored to the Jatukam boom and to the consecration lineup of that period rather than to the abbot personally, so they are less exposed than recent releases issued under his own name.
The real risk right now is panic selling and news-driven hype. Buy only through channels with a clear, verifiable chain of custody, treat unusually cheap listings as a warning sign, and use a trusted-seller checklist before committing. The investigation is ongoing and we will follow it.
Source: The Standard, Daily News, MGR Online