BANGKOK, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's Assets Examination Committee (AEC) on Monday voted and resolved that former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's wife is guilty of buying a land plot in central Bangkok when her husband was in power, a source close to the panel told Xinhua.

    AEC has determined to appeal the case to "a special political court" under the Supreme Court recently for seizing the controversial land, the source said.

    Pojaman obtained the 52,800-square meters land plot in central Bangkok in an auction held by the Financial Institutions Development Fund (FIDF), which was under the Central Bangkok of Thailand in 2003, with an offer of 772 million baht (about 22 million U.S. dollars).

    The AEC claims the auction process was manipulated to benefit Pojaman as her husband was in power as the prime minister because the FIDF had earlier bought the land from other agencies for some 2 billion baht (about 57 million U.S. dollars) in 1995.

    The panel, quoting Article 33 of the Interim Constitution issued after last Sept. 19 military coup, accused Pojaman of underpaying Thailand's central bank for a 52,800-square meter prime real estate in Bangkok.

    Earlier, AEC chairman Nam Yimyaem stated that Thaksin and his wife had also violated Article 100 of the anti-corruption law, which bans state officials from entering into contracts with state agencies under their supervision.

    If convicted, the couple face up to 10 years in jail and confiscation of the land, the source said.