Who is Wilawan Emsawat? Thai woman at the heart of a shocking monk seduction and blackmail scandal

Economic Times

17-07-2025

A scandal is shaking Thailand's religious core, forcing some high-ranking monks to resign due to some serious accusations. Wilawan Emsawat, a 35-year-old woman, is at the center of it all.Nine or more Buddhist monks say that Thai woman Wilawan Emsawat seduced them and then blackmailed them, forcing them to leave their orders. Authorities say she stole millions by threatening to tell people about illegal relationships. Wilawan Emsawat was accused of luring several monks to violate their celibacy vows and then coercing them into paying hefty fees to conceal the intimacy, as per a report by The Telegraph.
ALSO READ: End of six-figure coding jobs? Meet Devin: Goldman's new AI engineer that works like a human, but for no salary Ms. Wilawan seems to have reached out to monks on social media, and some have admitted to having relationships with her.
According to police commissioner Jaroonkiat Pankaew, the investigation started last month after an abbot of a well-known Bangkok temple abruptly left the monastic life.According to reports, Ms. Wilawan, also known as Golf, wooed the abbot before revealing her pregnancy and requesting 7.2 million baht (£165,000) in child support.At her opulent residence outside of Bangkok, she was taken into custody on Tuesday on suspicion of extortion, money laundering, and receiving stolen property.The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of the police found that Ms. Wilawan's five phones included pictures and videos of her violating the celibacy of multiple monks, some of whom were dressed in their religious robes.
ALSO READ: Massive Walmart layoffs? USA's largest private employer set to axe hundreds of jobs in shock move The bureau stated that the information could be used for blackmail, along with chat logs showing sexual encounters with monks. The majority of Thai monks belong to the Theravada sect, which mandates that they abstain from all sexual contact with women and maintain celibacy.Officers said they had tracked down money sent to her by a senior monk from a temple bank account and that she had specifically targeted senior monks for financial gain.At a press conference in the Thai capital, Mr. Jaroonkiat declared, "This woman is dangerous and we needed to arrest her as soon as possible."According to police, Ms. Wilawan's bank accounts received approximately 385 million baht (£8.8 million) over the previous three years, but the majority of the money was spent on internet gambling sites.According to the Central Investigation Bureau, a Facebook page has been established for people to report misbehaving monks, and at least nine abbots and senior monks involved in the scandal have been expelled from the monastic community.People express great upset over her arrest and demand a change in the rules governing monks and temples. The scandal that has engulfed Thailand and shaken its Buddhist institutions.According to a government spokesman, acting prime minister Phumtham Wechayachai has directed officials to investigate changing laws pertaining to monks and temples, particularly those pertaining to the transparency of temple finances.
Who is Wilawan Emsawat??She is a Thai woman accused of seducing and blackmailing monks for money.
How many monks were involved? At least nine senior monks have been disrobed thus far.