Thaksin vows to sue Bangkok over frozen assets -FT

SINGAPORE, June 22 (Reuters) Deposed Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra plans to sue the military government for the return of the 1.8 billion dollar of assets frozen by anti-graft investigators, the Financial Times said today.

''It's my money; my family money,'' he told the newspaper in an interview in London. ''They have no right to take it. We will sue them anyway. We have to sue, otherwise we cannot get our money back.'' Thaksin, who was ousted in a September coup by generals accusing him of running a corrupt government, said he had retired from politics and would return to Bangkok as a private citizen, ''but not now''.

Thai state prosecutors on Thursday formally charged Thaksin with ''official misconduct'' relating to his wife's purchase of a prime piece of Bangkok real estate.

The move came on the same day Manchester City said the English Premier League soccer club was backing an 81.6 million pound (162.6 million dollar) takeover bid led by Thaksin.

Thaksin, who has been living in London since the coup, said he was not worried about his personal safety but he was concerned about the potential for clashes between the military and the public were he to return.

Asked how he could pursue the military government for the return of assets if he was not in Thailand, Thaksin said his wife and children would fight the case.

REUTERS PDS BST0731