Ex-abbot Shi Yongxin was removed from his position in July for "extremely" bad behaviour. Allegations of misappropriating project funds and temple assets saw him placed under investigation and defrocked.

Authorities in central Henan province, where the Shaolin Temple is located, approved Shi's arrest on "suspicion of embezzlement, misappropriating funds and accepting bribes as a non-state employee", the Xinxiang Procuratorate said in a statement on Sunday.

It was unclear if Shi had already been detained.

Shi, 60, took office as abbot in 1999 and in the following decades expanded Shaolin studies and cultural knowledge overseas.

He became known as the "CEO monk" for establishing dozens of companies abroad -- but received a backlash for commercialising Buddhism.

He had previously been accused by former monks of embezzling money from a temple-run company, maintaining a fleet of luxury cars and fathering children with multiple women.

In July, Beijing's top Buddhist authority said it was cancelling Shi's certificate of ordination after fresh claims.

"Shi Yongxin's actions are of an extremely bad nature, seriously undermining the reputation of the Buddhist community, hurting the image of monks," the Buddhist Association of China said at the time.

The temple, established in AD 495, is known as the birthplace of Zen Buddhism and Chinese kung fu.