Reports coming out of Thailand suggest Manchester City owner Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife Khunying Potjaman are considering political asylum.
The couple are being tried at the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions for alleged wrongdoing in the Ratchadaphisek land deal.
Two other cases against Mr Thaksin – the lottery case and the Exim Bank loan to Burma are pending in the same court.
Five other cases against Mr Thaksin and his advisors are with the Office of the Attorney-General.
On July 31, the Criminal Court found Khunying Potjaman guilty of conspiring to evade tax totalling 546 million baht in the transfer of shares in the Shinawatra Computer and Communication company. She was sentenced to three years in jail and was later released on bail.
Finance Minister Surapong Suebwonglee, one of the couple’s closest aides, said he talked with people in close contact with Mr Thaksin about rumours the couple would seek political asylum, but the truth has yet to be established.
‘Some denied the rumour, others confirmed it,’ Mr Surapong said.
Should the ex Thai Prime Minister go into exile, his estimated £800m fortune frozen in Thai bank accounts will more than likely return to the state.
