Thailand's former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra will ask the Bank of Thailand (BOT) to permit him to withdraw an unspecified sum from the country so he can buy Manchester City Football Club, Thai local media reported on Sunday.

According to Thaksin's counsel Noppadon Pattama, Thaksin has bid for the club. The offer is estimated at around 100-million- pound (about 198 million U.S. dollars).

"What I can say now is we have rendered a bid for the team. We had to be silent because we had to follow stock regulations," Noppadon was quoted by Thai newspaper The Nation as saying.

Noppadon said the central bank was expected to give the green light because "the money would be used for a good cause".

"The money isn't going to be used for any political purpose, and news of the bid to buy the club isn't politically motivated," he said.

Noppadon also said Thaksin wants to help promote sports in Thailand via the take-over of Manchester City.

The net worth of Thaksin and his family is estimated to be around 3 billion U.S. dollars.

In January 2006, Thaksin's family sold off the majority stake of Shin Corp to Temasek Group of Singapore in a tax-free 70- billion-baht (2 billion U.S. dollars) deal, triggering a widespread protest and leading to the coup on Sept 19, 2006.

Criminal, tax evasion, abuse of power and other charges have been filed against Thaksin and his family members after the coup, with the first criminal case due to be heard by the court in July this year.

Source: Xinhua