Police in Thailand have arrested a woman they say seduced and had sexual relationships with Buddhist monks and then used videos and photos taken during the sex acts to blackmail them for millions of dollars.
Wilawan Emsawat allegedly had sex with at least nine abbots and senior monks, police said at a press conference on Tuesday. They believe she received around 385 million baht (approximately C$16.25 million) over the past three years. Police said she spent the majority of the funds she received on online gambling websites.
The scandal, which first came to police attention in mid-June, has rocked Thailand’s revered Buddhist institution. Monks operate under a strict celibacy rule, and those found caught up in the violations have been disrobed and cast out of the monkhood, the Royal Thai Police Central Investigation Bureau said.
Scandals involving monks surface a few times a year in Thailand but usually don’t involve senior members of the clergy. The case also puts a spotlight on the large sums of money donated to temples controlled by abbots, which is in marked contrast to the abstemious lives they are supposed to lead under their religion’s precepts.
Wilawan deliberately targeted senior monks for financial gain, police said, noting they found that several monks had transferred large amounts of money after Wilawan initiated romantic relationships with them.
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Investigators who searched her house found more than 80,000 photos and videos used to blackmail the monks, the police spokesman said.
Police said they first began looking into the case after an abbot at a famous Bangkok temple abruptly left the monkhood last month.
A screengrab made from the livestream of Thailand’s Central Investigation Bureau holding a press conference in Bangkok, on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, about the arrest of a woman involved in a sex scandal that caused several senior monks to leave monkhood.
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In their investigation, they found the departed abbot had allegedly been blackmailed by Wilawan. She had told the monk she was pregnant and asked him for 7.2 million baht (more than C$300,000) in support payments, Jaroonkiat Pankaew, a Central Investigation Bureau deputy commissioner, told reporters at a news conference.
Police believed “this woman is dangerous and we needed to arrest her as soon as possible,” Jaroonkiat said.
Acting Thai prime minister Phumtham Wechayachai ordered authorities to review and consider tightening existing laws related to monks and temples, especially the transparency of temple finances, to restore faith in Buddhism, government spokesperson Jirayu Houngsub said Tuesday.
The Central Investigation Bureau has set up a Facebook page for people to report monks who misbehave, Jaroonkiat said.
“We will investigate monks across the country,” he said. “I believe that the ripple effects of this investigation will lead to a lot of changes.”
Wilawan is now facing charges of extortion, money laundering and receiving stolen goods.
— With files from The Associated Press
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