Thaksin takes over despite Thai arrest warrant

Manchester City formally moved into the private control of Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday and the club are adamant it shall remain there, despite a warrant being issued for the arrest of the controversial former prime minister of Thailand.

Thailand's Supreme Court set in a motion a challenge to Thaksin's self-imposed exile in England and his position as a "fit and proper owner" of the Premier League club yesterday when, at the first hearing of a case into alleged corruption relating to a land purchase deal in Bangkok, the country's attorney general issued arrest warrants for the City chairman and his wife, Pojamarn.

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Under part two of the Extradition Act 2003, which designated Thailand an extradition partner of the British Government, Thaksin may have to face the charges in his homeland while a conviction would counter the Premier League's assertion that he meets its "fit and proper owner" criteria even if passed in his absence.

Both developments would inevitably threaten his ownership of City, in which he has so far invested £40m on manager Sven Goran Eriksson's squad plus £81.6m on the takeover of the club, but representatives of Thaksin and advisers on the takeover process are unperturbed by such a damaging prospect.

Their confidence is based on Thailand's current governance by military rulers, who ousted the democratically elected Thaksin in a bloodless coup last December and the belief that, should extradition proceedings commence, both the High Court and the British Government would have to recognise the regime and accept its decision.

Perversely, Thaksin, recently accused of being a "human rights abuser of the worst kind" by Human Rights Watch over the death of 2,500 people during his government's war on drugs in 2003, could also be protected by the Human Rights Act.

Lawyers acting for Thaksin in Bangkok yesterday requested the case be delayed indefinitely as the former prime minister and his wife believe it is unsafe for them to travel in Thailand. The billionaire has claimed that the charges are politically motivated ahead of elections later this year and that he will return once a democratically elected government has been installed.

"No doubt this latest publicity stunt by the military government has nothing to do with the referendum on the constitution taking place later this week," said a sardonic spokesman for Thaksin last night.

The announcement of the arrest warrant came on the day an emergency general meeting involving the 10 per cent of City shareholders who did not sell their holdings to the Thai consortium was asked to formalise the club's move from public to private ownership.

Meanwhile, geographically and figuratively thousands of miles away from the legal proceedings in Bangkok, Eriksson has insisted that his concerns are confined to rectifying the club's appalling goalscoring record at home to Derby County tonight.

The former England manager, who declined to comment on his chairman's legal predicament, enjoyed a promising start to his reign with a 2-0 win at West Ham on Saturday but admits that ending the club's barren run on home soil – the City of Manchester Stadium has not witnessed a Premier League goal from the team since New Year's Day – will be essential to maintaining the feelgood factor ahead of Sunday's Manchester derby.

"I have heard about that," said Eriksson. "Let's hope we score before Christmas. Thirteen and a half hours without a goal at home is too long whether you are a fan, a player or a manager, but we can only look forwards. The team we have on paper should score goals and I'm sure they will."

Eriksson, who is continuing his search for an experienced goalkeeper and has not given up on the £4m pursuit of Palermo midfielder Mark Bresciano, also had words of sympathy for Wayne Rooney as he recovers from his third broken foot in three years. "I feel sorry for England fans, Steve McClaren and Rooney," said the Swede.