In 1999 and again in 2002, Luang Por Dhammajayo, the then abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya, was accused of charges of fraud and embezzlement by the Thai media and later some government agencies when donations of land were found in his name. Wat Phra Dhammakaya denied this, stating that it was the intention of the donors to give the land to the abbot and not the temple, and that owning personal property is common and legal in the Thai Sangha. Widespread negative media coverage at this time was symptomatic of the temple being made the scapegoat for commercial malpractice in the Thai Buddhist temple community in the wake of the 1997 Asian financial crisis. The Sangha Supreme Council declared that Luang Por Dhammajayo had not broken any serious offenses against monastic discipline (Vinaya). In 2006, the Thai National Office for Buddhism cleared the Dhammakaya Foundation and Luang Por Dhammajayo of all accusations when Luang Por Dhammajayo agreed offer all of the disputed land to the name of his temple.