Top Tibetan Monk On Money Laundering Charge

A Tibetan monk seen as a possible successor to the Dalai Lama is to be prosecuted for money laundering.

   The decision to prosecute Karmapa Urgyen Trinley comes after an Indian court overturned a decision to drop charges.

   A judge at the Himachal Pradesh High Court issued an order for authorities to open criminal proceedings over the recovery of around $1m (£650,000) in foreign currency during a raid on his Buddhist monastery four years ago.

   Criminal conspiracy charges were filed after the raid but a district court in 2012 dismissed the case but the latest appeal means Trinley now faces judicial proceedings.

   The case dates back to a raid in January 2011 on a monastery in the Himalayan town of Dharamshala in which investigators say stacks of bank notes in 26 different currencies were recovered, including the equivalent of £65,000 in Chinese yuan.

   The raid came after police stopped two people driving a car that was full of cash - the pair said the money was intended for a land deal involving a trust run by Trinley.

   The 30-year-old has denied any wrongdoing, saying the bank notes were donations from devotees gathered over the years and he was not involved in any land deals.

   The monk, who fled Tibet at the age of 14, is recognised by both China and the Dalai Lama as the reincarnation of the Karmapa Lama, the 17th incarnation of the head of the Karma Kagyu lineage, one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism.

   Since fleeing Tibet and reaching India after an eight-day journey on foot and horseback, Trinley has lived mainly at the Gyuto Monastery in Dharamshala, the northern Indian hill station that is the seat of the Tibetan government in exile.

   He is seen as having the highest profile of an array of young lamas who could succeed the 80-year-old Dalai Lama.

   Their appearances together have increased speculation he is being groomed as the Nobel peace laureate's spiritual successor.

   Trinley's spokesman, Kunzang Chungyalpa, said the lama had great faith in India's judicial system.

   "He strongly believes truth will prevail at the end."