BANGKOK , Thailand ( CNN ) -- A Thai court has found deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra guilty of corruption , and sentenced him in absentia to two years imprisonment . Thaksin Shinawatra lives in self-imposed exile in London . The case stemmed from a Bangkok land deal while Thaksin was in office . He was convicted of violating a law that bans ministers or their wives from conducting business with government agencies . Thaksin , who now lives in the United Kingdom , is unlikely to serve any jail time . He fled from Thailand in August just as he was to appear in court . In the land deal , Thaksin 's wife , Pojama , is accused of using her husband 's political influence to buy undeveloped land from a government agency for about a third of its estimated value . Watch more about the verdict » . The case is one of several corruption cases against Thaksin and his family that are winding their way through the legal system . The billionaire is accused of abusing the country 's system of checks and balances and bending government policy to benefit his family 's business . Thaksin has consistently denied that he or his family was involved in any wrongdoing . In August , Thaksin and his wife skipped a court appearance and fled to the United Kingdom rather than testify in the real-estate case . He said he did so because he did not think he would get a fair trial in Thailand . Thaksin , a telecommunications tycoon , once owned the English Premier League Manchester City Football Club but sold his stake this year . His party won two landslide victories before he was deposed in a bloodless military coup in September 2006 after massive anti-government street protests . He returned to Thailand after his allies in the People Power Party won nearly half the seats in the lower house in December 's parliamentary elections and formed the ruling coalition . In recent weeks , the country has seen daily demonstrations from anti-government protesters who want PPP leaders purged from the Cabinet . They have laid siege to the Government House -- the seat of the Thai government -- since August 26 . The protesters -- led by the People 's Alliance for Democracy -- contend that the PPP is trying to amend the constitution so Thaksin does not have to face charges . In September , Thailand 's Constitutional Court stripped then-Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej of his position , ruling that he had violated the constitution by appearing as a paid guest on a television cooking show . The PPP responded by picking Thaksin 's brother-in-law as Samak 's replacement -- further inflaming the protesters . CNN 's Dan Rivers contributed to this report .
Ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra convicted of corruption , sentenced to jail . Court rules Thaksin facilitated wife 's purchase of Bangkok real estate in 2003 . Comment: