Thaksin pleads not guilty to Thai graft charges

By Chalathip Thirasoonthrakul

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra pleaded not guilty to corruption charges against him and his wife on Wednesday as hundreds of supporters outside the Supreme Court chanted their support for him.

In a statement to a nine-judge court, Thaksin denied he and his wife Potjaman violated anti-graft laws that prevent serving politicians and their spouses from doing business deals with state agencies.

The couple had "submitted a joint affidavit denying all the charges", chief judge Thonglor Chomngam said.

The charges resulted from an investigation by a panel appointed by the generals who toppled the twice-elected Thaksin in a bloodless 2006 coup.

Thaksin insists he will never return to politics despite his still huge popularity.

The charges stemmed from Potjaman's purchase of a prime piece of land in downtown Bangkok owned by the central bank at an auction other bidders backed out of.

Potjaman pleaded not guilty to the charge in January after a return from exile interpreted by analysts as designed to mend ties with the coup leaders and the royalist establishment backing them to pave the way for Thaksin's homecoming.

If convicted, Potjaman and Thaksin, who came back from 18 months in exile in February, could face up to 10 years in jail.

After his ouster, Thaksin, who has had nearly $2 billion of his family assets frozen, was accused by the coup makers of presiding over rampant corruption during his five years in power, but he and his family have faced few formal charges.

MORE CHARGES

On Monday, army-appointed graftbusters filed new charges against Thaksin, accusing him and 46 cabinet ministers and other top officials of illegal use of funds from a state lottery, wrongly approving and operating the lottery from 2003 to 2006.

But political analysts say it is unlikely the couple would end up behind bars as witnesses from state agencies and bidders who dropped out would be reluctant to testify against them now a Thaksin-supported party was leading a coalition government.

"They were politically motivated and they will be politically settled," said a Bangkok-based risk analyst.

Thaksin's opponents, who led 100,000 on Bangkok streets urging him to quit prior to the coup, accused the government of trying to interfere in the judicial system to get him off.

The People's Alliance for Democracy said it would stage a demonstration in Bangkok on March 28 to expose such alleged attempts by "Thaksin's nominee government".