A Buddhist monk and a psychic medium were arrested over suspected fraud and money laundering through a temple in Thailand.

Luang Phor Alongkot, 65, and Seksan Sapsubbsakul, 43, were detained by police in a raid on Phrabat Namphu temple in Lopburi province, in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Authorities converged on the place of worship following investigations into Luang Phor Alongkot's identity and educational background, suspicions about the spending of temple donations, his use of a dead man's ID number to open a bank account to receive donations, and the treatment of HIV patients at the temple.

They had placed the temple under surveillance, but sprang into action when a black van believed to be a getaway vehicle arrived to pick up Luang Phor Alongkot at around 1 am local time.

The monk was arrested and taken to the Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok at 5 am as police seized from the temple financial documents, donation receipts, expenses, and land title deeds dating back to 2019.

Seksan, who had helped raise temple funds, was taken into custody five hours later. The self-proclaimed psychic was 'visibly stressed' and refused to answer questions from the press.

Police Lieutenant General Jaroonkiat Pankaew, deputy commissioner of the Central Investigation Bureau, said: ‘The Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases issued the arrest warrant on August 22 after receiving sufficient evidence to believe that Luang Phor Alongkot fraudulently embezzled donations from Wat Phrabat Namphu.

‘He is also accused of being a public official who acted improperly to cause damage to others, money laundering, and conspiring with two or more people to commit money laundering. Subdivision 1 of the Crime Suppression Division has taken him into custody for further legal action.'

The officer said that the monk voluntarily left the monkhood after interrogations.

The former abbot allegedly confessed the temple had received ten-digit donations, which was invested into land, football fields, and company investments.

Police said investigations were underway to look for possible accomplices in the scheme.

An estimated 93.4 per cent of the Thai population is Buddhist, with some 45,000 temples across Thailand, according to the National Office of Buddhism.

However, public trust in the country's Buddhist order has eroded after a string of high-ranking monks were caught in a femme fatale seduction scandal in July.

The religious leaders allegedly funneled temple funds to a woman named Wirawan Emsawat, also known as Sika Golf, 35, who allegedly seduced them to gain access to the money, which she reportedly used for her gambling habit.

She was said to have stolen a staggering 385 million baht (8.9 million GBP) from temple coffers before being arrested at her luxury home in Bangkok on July 15.

Police also found that hundreds of fugitives were living as Buddhist monks across the country to evade arrest.