A Thai court has ordered ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to appear for a corruption trial on August 14th.
A panel of nine Supreme Court judges agreed to proceed with charges summarised as "misconduct of a government official and violation of a ban on state officials being party to transactions involving public interests".
If convicted, Thaksin, the new owner of English soccer club Manchester City, could face up to 10 years in jail, the chief prosecutor said.
"The court has ordered them to be present at the start of the trial, therefore they must show up in person," Seksan said of Thaksin and his wife, who both live in exile.
The charges stem from a ruling by an Asset Examination Committee (AEC) set up after the coup last year that Thaksin and his wife, Potjaman, broke anti-corruption laws preventing politicians in office doing business deals with state agencies.
Potjaman bought land for 772 million baht (€16.3 million) from a unit of the Bank of Thailand in a 2003 auction - when Thaksin was in the middle of his first term - in which other bidders dropped out.
The AEC wants the court to annul the deal, return the land to the central bank and confiscate the money involved. Thaksin and his wife have denied the charges.
He has said he would not return until democracy was restored as he could not get a fair trial under a military-appointed government.