Former Thailand Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra faces a criminal charge for negligence of duty in a controversial rice subsidy scheme that led to the loss billions of dollars.
If found guilty of the charge, Yingluck could face up to 10 years in jail.
The charges came hours before Yingluck was to face an impeachment hearing over her purported failure to halt the rice scheme, CNN reported.
Under the rice subsidy scheme that was introduced in 2011, farmers in Malaysia were promised higher yields - above the market rate - for their crop.
However, the program wasted huge amounts of public money while trying to please rural voters. The exports were hurt in the process and the government was left with large stockpiles of rice it couldn't sell without losing money, the report added.