Thai Police have arrested a woman who squeezed nearly $12 million out of Buddhist monks trying to cover up having broken their vows of celibacy.

At least nine abbots and senior monks involved in the scandal have been disrobed and cast out of the monkhood, police said.

The scandal came to light when a well-known abbot fled to Laos, reportedly after refusing to pay a seven-million-baht demand. A police search of Emsawat's home uncovered five mobile phones containing more than 80,