"The prosecution will seek maximum punishment for Pojaman and Bhanapot for alleged criminal and tax violations," Attapol Yaisawang said.

The prosecution team, led by chief prosecutor Somsak Boon-thong, agreed to indict the pair, as recommended by the Assets Exam-ination Com-mittee (AEC) and had issued an order to prosecute them, Attapol said. The next step was for the AEC to summon the defendants to report to prosecutors within 10 days in order to spell out the charges, he said.

The defendants included Bha-napot, Pojaman and her private secretary Kanchanapa Honghern, he said.

Kanchanapa would be charged for being involved in the tax offences but not tried on criminal charges laid against the other two, he said.

At the heart of the prosecution was "a conspiracy" to file false income tax returns in relation to a stock transaction by Pojaman and Bhanapot in 2000.

The defendants unlawfully claimed tax exemption, the prosecution spokesman said.

Prosecutors would treat the case as a criminal conspiracy, and the matter could not be settled out of court even if the defendants later decided to meet their tax obligations, he said.

Based on the AEC report, the defendants were liable for Bt500 million in unpaid tax, he said.

If convicted, they would have to meet their tax liabilities and pay a fine of up to Bt400,000 on top of any time served in jail, he said.

Before public prosecutors reached their decision to pursue the case, Pojaman lodged a petition arguing that the AEC had no mandate to investigate her as she was not an office holder and that the AEC failed to take testimony from five tax officials involved in the stock deal.

The prosecution team ruled to drop the petition on grounds that the junta's announcements authorised the AEC to investigate the spouse of an office holder.

It also found the AEC had already reviewed statements by the five tax officials, as demanded by Pojaman.

Reacting to the prosecutors' decision, AEC chairman Nam Yimyaem said he would convene a committee meeting to map out the procedures to summon the defendants to report to prosecutors.

The AEC might first issue a summons, before moving to ask the police to execute a warrant of arrest if the three defendants refused to voluntarily report themselves, Nam said.

Sak Korsangruang, the AEC's spokesman, said the ten days' period would start from yesterday and that the defendants are required to give themselves up to the AEC or the public prosecutors within that period, or they would face arrest by the police.

"If they fail to come forward under the summons warrant, it is likely that arrest warrants will be issued," he said.

Thaksin's chief lawyer Noppadon Patama said he viewed the litigation as an act of political expediency.

"The prosecution has been anticipated and the defence team is ready to fight every step of the way through the Criminal Court, the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court," he said.

Noppadon voiced confidence that the defendants could clear their name.

"If, at the end, the courts rules for us to pay tax, we will pay without any problem because we are innocent and have no intention to evade tax," he said.

He said the Shinawatra family had already lodged Bt546 million with the Revenue Department as a guarantee to meet tax obligations pending the outcome of the judicial review.