A Thai judge issued arrest warrants today for ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife for failing to appear at their trial on corruption-related charges.

Supreme Court Judge Tonglor Choam-ngam said the court "has reason to believe that they are evading prosecution" in connection with a court case against them involving the sale of a prime piece of Bangkok real estate in 2003 when Thaksin, now owner of Manchester City, was prime minister.

The warrants accuse the two of being fugitives for failing to show up for the first formal session in the trial, one of several cases involving alleged wrongdoing by Thaksin and members of his family.

The couple failed to answer summonses seeking their appearance, and their lawyers had sought to have their trial delayed.

Thaksin was overthrown in a coup d'etat in September last year after popular demonstrations calling for him to step down because of alleged corruption and abuse of power.

He has been living in exile in Britain since his fall and his wife Pojamarn has been travelling in and out of the country and, according to their lawyer Pichit Chaenban, both are currently in London.

Tonglor said the next session of the trial before a special section of the Supreme Court that hears cases involving political officeholders would be held on September 25th.

Speaking before the judge's ruling, Patchara Yuthithamdamrong, an official from the attorney general's office, told reporters that if an arrest warrant was issued, prosecutors would "seek co-operation from the UK  to send them back to face trial."

It was not clear if his office would launch formal proceedings to try to extradite Thaksin, a lengthy and complicated process with no guarantee of success.

Pichit had sought to delay the proceedings, saying the summonses for Thaksin and Pojamarn had not been sent to the correct address.

He also said Thaksin's safety could not be assured if he returned to Thailand, and that it was in the interest of post-coup national reconciliation that he not return until after a new election, expected in December.

Thaksin is charged with conflict of interest and dereliction of duty for personal gain in the case, involving a plot of land in central Bangkok valued at £12.25million.

The case also concerns Pojamarn's purchase of real estate from the Financial Institutions Development Fund, which is directed by the central bank. The fund was established to handle assets of insolvent companies after the 1997 financial crisis.

An anti-corruption law bars prime ministers or their spouses from doing business with government agencies, and the committee said Thaksin, as prime minister, ultimately oversaw the fund.

Thaksin became a billionaire in the telecommunications sector before entering politics and serving as prime minister from 2001 to 2006.