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Bangkok: A Thai court issued arrest warrants yesterday for former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife over their alleged violation of stock-trading laws.
It is the second set of warrants issued in the recent past against Thaksin, who has been living abroad since he was ousted in a bloodless coup almost a year ago. The other case involved conflict of interest related to the sale of Bangkok real estate.
Sunai Manomaiudom, director-general of the Department of Special Investigation - Thailand's equivalent of the US FBI - said the Bangkok Criminal Court had issued the warrant at his agency's request.
Thaksin has said he will not return to Thailand until after new elections are held at the end of this year.
Thaksin was deposed in September 2006 after the country fell into a political crisis following mass protests demanding his resignation because of alleged corruption and abuse of power.
Cause of discontent
He became a billionaire in the telecommunications sector before entering politics and serving as prime minister since 2001. A controversial business deal by his family - the sale early last year of its telecommunications firm Shin Corp. to a Singapore state investment company - was a major cause of public discontent.
The new warrants for Thaksin and his wife, Pojaman, involve charges of violating regulations requiring disclosure of corporate information to the Stock Exchange of Thailand.
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