AKIPRESS.COM - Former Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra will face a criminal charge of negligence in the Supreme Court and possible jail term, the Attorney General's Office said on Friday, in a move likely to stoke tensions in the divided country.

The charges against Thailand's first female prime minister, who was removed from office for abuse of power in May days before a military coup, concern her role in scheme that paid farmers above market prices for rice and cost Thailand billions of dollars, reports Reuters.

If found guilty, Yingluck would face a maximum of 10 years in jail.

The announcement comes just hours before the country's military-stacked legislature is scheduled to vote in a separate impeachment case against Yingluck for failing to exercise sufficient oversight over the scheme.

If found guilty in parliament, Yingluck faces a five-year ban from politics. That could be divisive in a country still tense after last year's coup that ended months of protests on the streets of Bangkok against her administration.