Thailand's Supreme Court issued arrest warrants for exiled Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife on corruption charges yesterday.

The nine-judge panel ordered him to be produced in court by September 25, the starting date of the trial of Thaksin and his wife, following his failure to meet yesterday's deadline for a voluntary appearance.

Extradition proceedings would be considered if Thaksin, who has kept a high profile by buying English Premier League football club Manchester City from his exile home in London, did not appear by the new deadline, prosecutor Seksan Bangsomboon told reporters.

Thaksin, ousted in a bloodless coup last year, and his wife Pojaman, face charges summarized as "misconduct of a government official and violation of a ban on state officials being party to transactions involving public interests".

They stem from Pojaman's 772 million baht (US$22.3 million) purchase of land in central Bangkok while he was prime minister from a unit of the Bank of Thailand in a 2003 auction at which other bidders dropped out.

The couple has denied the charges and Thaksin, who has said frequently to general disbelief in Thailand that he has quit politics, says he will not return to Thailand until democracy is restored.

Thaksin's lawyers argued the land case should be postponed to next year, or 30 days after a new government took office following a general election promised for December. They argued Thaksin could not get a fair trial with the military in charge.

Thaksin's return before the election could also cause trouble between supporters who swept him to two landslide election victories and opponents, they said.

Coup leader and army chief Sonthi Boonyaratglin gave an assurance that Thaksin's safety would be guaranteed on his return.

If convicted, Thaksin, a telecommunications billionaire banned from politics for five years after his party was found guilty of electoral fraud, could face 10 years in jail and a 60,000 baht (US$1,800) fine.

The charges stem from a ruling by the Asset Examination Committee set up after the coup that Thaksin and Potjaman broke anti-graft laws preventing politicians in office doing business deals with state agencies.

The committee wants the court to annul the deal, return the land to the central bank and confiscate the money involved.

(China Daily via agencies August 15, 2007)