Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been living in exile in Britain since being ousted in 2006. Authorities are expected to request his extradition. (David Longstreath/Associated Press)Thailand's former prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, has been sentenced to two years in prison for violating a conflict-of-interest law while in office.

Thailand's Supreme Court ruled on 5-4 on Tuesday that Thaksin, 59, was guilty of corruption after finding that he had been involved in his wife's lucrative 2003 purchase of a half-hectare plot of Bangkok land from a central bank fund while he was prime minister.

Thailand's anti-corruption law bars prime ministers or their spouses from doing business with government agencies.

The $23 million US purchase has also been estimated to be worth three times what she paid.

"The defendant was the prime minister at the time. He should have been honest and ethical and should not have violated counter-corruption laws," Thongloh Chomngam, head of the court's nine-judge panel, said, reading from the lengthy verdict.

Wife acquitted

Thaksin's wife, Pojaman, was acquitted in the case. She has previously been convicted of income tax evasion and sentenced in absentia to several years in jail.

Anti-government protesters cerebrate inside Bangkok's government house on Tuesday after a Thai court found former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra guilty of corruption. (Sakchai Lalit/Associated Press)Several people braved the rainy weather outside the courthouse awaiting the ruling and many cheered when the news came out that Thaksin had been found guilty.

It is the first guilty verdict against the country's former leader, who has four other corruption cases pending against him. The verdict has also made him the first politician to be convicted of corruption charges related to his time as prime minister.

The court also ordered Tuesday a fresh arrest warrant for Thaksin, who already has several warrants out for him in connection with the other corruption cases.

Thaksin was ousted as leader of the country in a military coup in 2006 after being accused of corruption and abuse of power.

Living in exile

Thaksin, who has been living in exile in London with his wife, told Reuters that the case was politically motivated and that he had expected a sentence that included a jail term.

"I have been informed of the result," he told Reuters. "I had long anticipated that it would turn out this way."

Thaksin also denied British media reports that he was seeking asylum in Britain.

Thai prosecutors are now demanding that Britain extradite Thaksin.

"The prosecutors will soon make a copy of the court verdict and pass it on to Britain to quickly extradite him," said Seksan Bangsombun, chief prosecutor for the case.

Thaksin still faces several other corruption-related cases.

Thailand has been wracked by coups and political crises many times since it emerged as a modern nation-state in the 1930s.

The election of Thaksin, a telecommunications billionaire, in 2001 ushered in fresh turmoil as the strong-willed prime minister clashed with Thailand's traditional military and business elite.

He was deposed while he was out of the country.

After elections in January 2008 restored his supporters to power, Thaksin returned to Thailand but again fled in August when courts issued warrants for his arrest.

With files from the Associated Press and Reuters