Pakistan cricket trio face corruption charges

by Adam D Fri 04 Feb 2011, 12:36 pm

Three Pakistan cricket team members and an agent will face corruption charges, the Crown Prosecution Service has said.

Mohammad Amir, Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif were accused of "spot-fixing" offences in the fourth Test against England at Lord's last August.

The players and their agent Mazhar Majeed will be charged with conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments and also conspiracy to cheat. They were suspended in September, accused of bowling deliberate no-balls. The International Cricket Council, which conducted its own investigation, will present its findings on Saturday.

The players, who are all from Pakistan, and Mr Majeed, 35, of Oaks Road, Croydon, are due to appear at the City of Westminster Magistrates' Court on 17 March.

Simon Clements, Head of the CPS Special Crime Division, said the charges "relate to allegations that Mr Majeed accepted money from a third party to arrange for the players to bowl no-balls on 26 and 27 August 2010, during Pakistan's fourth Test at Lord's Cricket Ground in London".

"We are satisfied there is sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction and it is in the public interest to prosecute," he said.

Mr Butt, the former Pakistan captain, and both Mr Asif and Mr Amir were provisionally suspended after the allegations of corruption surfaced during last year's tour of England.

It was claimed Mr Asif and Mr Amir deliberately bowled no-balls at pre-arranged times during the Test, with Mr Butt also said to be involved, in return for money from a bookmaker's "middle man".

They denied manipulating parts of the game in this way, which is known as spot fixing. The News of the World, which originally made the allegations against the players, said it would "continue to assist the police with their inquiries".

source: BBC website - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12365517