South African anti-corruption investigators have charged an ‘intermediary’ with attempting to fix a Ram Slam match.
Red lights started flashing in November, when Cricket South Africa said they had information that an international syndicate was targeting domestic cricket. The CSA’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit was being assisted by the International Cricket Council in fighting the threat.
It did not take long for the first strike. On Tuesday evening, CSA issued an obtuse statement which read: a ‘perpetrator operating as an intermediary has been charged with contriving to fix, or otherwise improperly influence aspects of the 2015 RAM SLAM T20 Challenge Series and with failing or refusing, without compelling justification, to co-operate with an investigation carried out by CSA’s Designated Anti-Corruption Official.’
The statement went on to say the ‘intermediary’ had been ‘provisionally suspended under Article 4.7.1 of the Code’.
CSA did not elaborate on what an ‘intermediary’ was, but he is now required to respond to the charges.
The provisional suspension means that the ‘intermediary may not be involved in any capacity in any Match or any other kind of function, event or activity (other than authorised anti-corruption education or rehabilitation programmes) that is authorised, organised, sanctioned, recognised or supported in any way by CSA, the ICC, a National Cricket Federation or any member of a National Cricket Federation.
‘Our attitude to corruption will always be one of zero tolerance and we are confident that we have the necessary structures in place to effectively deal with any corrupt activity,’ commented CSA Chief Executive, Haroon Lorgat.
‘We will relentlessly pursue under our Code and the law of the land any persons we believe to be involved in corrupting the game and, with assistance from the Police, we will also seek criminal prosecution,’ added Lorgat.
‘As is the standard practice with the ICC, neither CSA nor the ICC will make any further comment in respect of ongoing investigations.’
