Thailand confirmed today that it will request extradition from Britain of Thaksin Shinawatra, the former Thai prime minister and owner of Manchester City, who fled to exile in London at the weekend to avoid facing trial for fraud.

Tej Bunnag, the Thai Foreign Minister, said that the country's first step would be the cancellation of the diplomatic passports held by Mr Thaksin and his wife, Potjaman, after arrest warrants were issued for them on Monday by the country’s Supreme Court.

“We will act promptly — this is our priority,” he said in Bangkok. “The extradition procedure is difficult, complicated and time consuming and we cannot predict the timetable. Extradition is a very sensitive international legal issue, so it will require close consultation [with Britain].”

A team of lawyers has been assembled and the process will begin in earnest next week after the return from overseas of Thailand’s attorney-general. Any extradition attempt will be made under the terms of a 1911 treaty between Britain and the Kingdom of Siam, as Thailand was then known.

Such a process would be long and complicated, particularly if Mr Thaksin applies for asylum in Britain. Of more immediate concern to him will be an application to be made by the attorney-general’s office next week to seize 76 billion baht (£1.2 billion) of family assets, which were frozen in Thai banks after he was deposed in a military coup in 2006.

Mr Thaksin is charged with corruption relating to Ms Potjaman’s purchase of a 772 million baht (£12.2 million) plot of land in central Bangkok in 2003. The prosecutors allege that a government agency sold the property at Mr Thaksin’s behest for one third of its market value. About two billion dollars of his assets have been frozen by the Government, and these may now also be forfeited.

This is on top of 13 million baht (£200,000) in bail bonds which will be forfeited by the Thaksins for jumping bail, after attending the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing last Friday. Ms Potjaman was appealing against a three-year prison sentence imposed on her last month.

If, as seems likely, he is convicted in absentia, the Football Association will come under pressure to review his status as Manchester City proprietor.

Under the so-called “fit and proper” test, a club director can be disqualified if found guilty of corruption by a “competent court” overseas.

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