Phra Maha Satsanamunee yesterday appeared at the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) offices to acknowledge the charges but denied any wrongdoing.

The Mercedes-Benz is at the centre of a notorious scandal because Somdet Chuang, who enjoys strong support among some members of the clergy, is the only registered owner of the vehicle.

The acting Supreme Patriarch’s legal team maintains that he is innocent because the vehicle was given to him by Phra Maha Satsanamunee.

Based on a statement, Phra Maha Satsanamunee was charged yesterday with violating excise laws in the acquisition of the luxury vehicle.

A source at the DSI said the monk denied any wrongdoing and had scheduled another meeting with the DSI on September 27.

“He promises to bring along related documents,” the source added.

The Mercedes-Benz owned by Somdet Chuang is not the only vehicles under scrutiny. Another source at the DSI said the Customs Department had already assessed unpaid taxes on at least eight other Mercedes-Benz cars.

“The DSI has also started checking some Porsche and Rolls-Royce vehicles to determine if there has been tax evasion in their purchases,” it added.

“If it was his money, he has to explain how he earned it,” the source said. “If the money came from temple funds, he risks charges of embezzlement.”

The DSI has described the classic car as “illegal” over suspicious activities involving its import, assembly, excise-tax payment and registration.

Meanwhile, the owners of a small business have complained that its name was falsely implicated in the illegal purchase of the car through an apparently fake receipt.

“That receipt is a fake,” HTY Auto Parts Limited partnership owner Weerachai Inprasert told the DSI yesterday. The DSI says it is clear that the classic car was illegal.

But it remained unclear as to whether acting Supreme Patriarch Somdej Phra Maha Ratcha-mangalacharn (Somdej Chuang) should be held responsible for that offence.

Somdej Chuang’s secretary Phra Maha Satsanamunee, the assistant abbot of Wat Paknam, has said he paid Bt4 million to Wicharn Garage for the vehicle but knew nothing about the process the garage used to deliver it.

Weerachai said yesterday his business did not play any role in the assembly of the classic vehicle and he did not know anyone or other entities implicated in the case.

The receipt, which Weerachai described as fake, states that NP Garage hired HTY Auto Parts to assemble the vehicle for Bt50,000 including value-added tax.

“We only import motorcycle parts,” Weerachai said.

Last week, NP Garage owner Kanjana Makmuan also complained to the DSI that her firm’s documents were falsely used to register the car.

“At this point, we can only say that this vehicle is illegal,” DSI director-general Colonel Paisit Wongmuang said yesterday.

The scandal has hurt Somdej Chuang’s chance of officially becoming the country’s top monk. Although the Sangha Supreme Council (SSC) has nominated him for the post, Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha has not yet forwarded his name for royal endorsement.

The DSI yesterday held a press conference to explain in detail why the Mercedes-Benz is illegal. He said the DSI had investigated the case since 2013.

He said the investigation found that several suspects allegedly committed legal offences in the import, assembly, excise-tax payment and vehicle-registration process to deliver the beautiful Mercedes-Benz to Somdej Chuang. The charges will include tariff evasion, document forgery and perjury.

Phra Maha Satsanamunee, the assistant abbot of Wat Paknam, told the DSI he paid Bt4 million for the vehicle and gave it to the temple’s abbot, Somdej Chuang.

“We will investigate further as to why he has given this Mercedes-Benz to the senior monk,” Paisit said.

Paisit refused to comment on widespread speculation that the assistant abbot might have intended to take all the blame in this case in an attempt to clear Somdej Chuang.

Somdej Chuang, also known as Somdej Phra Maha Ratchamangalacharn, chairs the SSC.

PM changes mind on debate

After Somdej Phra Nyanasamvara, the late Supreme Patriarch, died in 2013, Somdej Chuang emerged as the strongest contender for the top monk post.

However, a number of Buddhists including monks recently came forward to oppose his rise to the helm of the country’s Sangha circle.

Prayut suggested this week that a public debate should be held so both sides in the Sangha conflict could express their opinions. However, the prime minister played down the idea yesterday.

“Such debates have already taken place every now and then, it seems,” he said.

Prayut said he had instructed PM’s Office Minister Suwaphan Tanyuvardhana and Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam to help find a solution to the issue.

Phra Buddha Isara, the abbot of Wat Or Noi, is keen to join a debate on the conflict.

Phra Medhi Dhammajahn, who led thousands of monks in a show of support for Somdej Chuang on Monday, said he needed to check the topics that would be covered in the debate.

“If the public debate is about whether Buddhism should be included in the new charter, I will be a debater,” he said.

He added: “But if you are going to debate the nomination of Somdej Chuang as the new Supreme Patriarch, I won’t join such a debate in public.”

He explained that the debate would not be appropriate because Somdej Chuang might be defamed in public and have his reputation damaged.

Buddhists who support Somdej Chuang yesterday lodged a complaint with police against Phra Buddha Isara, accusing him of giving false information to police.

That was apparently in retaliation to Phra Buddha Isara’s complaint that the gathering of monks on Monday violated the Public Assembly Act.