Sports

Sri Lankan cricketers given two-week amnesty to report corruption

Sri Lankan cricketers have been granted a 15-day amnesty to report previously undisclosed information relating to corruption in the sport, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced.

Key points:

  • The ICC says it will issue the amnesty from January 16-31 for reporting previously undisclosed information of corruption in Sri Lankan cricket
  • A number of former Sri Lankan cricket internationals and administrators have recently been involved in corruption cases
  • Sri Lanka's sports minister said last month that the ICC has ranked the country's cricket administration "corrupt from top to bottom"

The amnesty will apply to all participants under both the ICC and Sri Lankan Cricket (SLC) anti-corruption codes who have previously failed to report information relating to wrongdoing.

Players can be suspended for failing to pass on information about corruption but anything reported between January 16-31 will not attract a charge, the ICC said in a statement.

Failure to do so, however, could result in a ban from cricket for up to five years.

The move comes in the wake of a series of corruption cases involving former Sri Lanka internationals and administrators.

"This is the first time the ICC has held an amnesty and it is in response to the very specific challenges we face in Sri Lanka," Alex Marshall, the general manager of the ICC's anti-corruption unit, said.

"Allowing retrospective reporting of alleged approaches to engage in corrupt conduct will assist in our ongoing and wide-ranging investigations, as well as enabling us to continue to develop a comprehensive picture of the situation there."

Following a meeting in Dubai last month, Sri Lanka's Sports Minister Harin Fernando said the ICC had ranked the country's cricket administration "corrupt from top to bottom".

Former captain and selector Sanath Jayasuriya was charged in October by the ICC for refusing to cooperate with ICC's anti-corruption unit. He denied any wrongdoing.

Former Sri Lankan bowler Dilhara Lokuhettige was charged last year for violating the anti-corruption code relating to a 10-over league in the United Arab Emirates, while the country's former paceman and bowling coach Nuwan Zoysa was provisionally suspended by SLC over match-fixing accusations.

Neither Lokuhettige nor Zoysa has responded publicly to the charges against them.

The Sri Lankan team will begin an Australian tour — including two Tests in Brisbane and Canberra — next week with a game against a Cricket Australia XI in Hobart.

Reuters

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