Match-Fixing Scandal
BCB faces legal battle over trial delays
The Bangladesh Cricket Board was served with a legal notice on Monday by two of the accused persons charged in the recent of Bangladesh Premier League match-fixing scandal for failing to start a trial in the stipulated time and thereby denying them a chance to defend themselves. Lawyers of Mosharraf Hossain and Mahbubul Alam served the notice as the BCB has already spent 40 days, a deadline mentioned in its anti-corruption code to form a tribunal to conduct the trial of any accused for match-fixing related offence.
The International Cricket Council on August 13 charged seven individuals with match-fixing related offence with two others charged for failing to comply with their obligation to report corrupt approaches that were made to them.
The ICC did not identify any individuals who have been charged but it was widely reported that Mosharraf and Mahbubul are two cricketers charged with match-fixing related offence. The duo admitted to have received the charge-sheet but pleaded not guilty. They responded within 14 days of receiving the charge-sheet and have been waiting to prove their innocence since.
‘We served the BCB with the legal notice today [Monday],’ said Barrister Nurus Sadik, who is representing both Mosharraf and Mahbubul. ‘Unless we get a satisfactory reply we are going to the court next week. As it is a civil dispute we will be going to file a case with the sub-judge court,’ said Sadik.
Sadik said the BCB failed to form the tribunal due to the procedural mistake exposed by the legal team of the accused and demanded the ban on their clients be lifted immediately. Sadik also accused the BCB and the ICC of applying double standards as it allowed two overseas cricketers to play cricket despite them facing similar charges.
‘Two cricketers are already playing while my clients are serving a ban, which I think wrong and an act of double standard. This is discrimination by the ICC as they imposed a ban only on our cricketers perhaps because they are from Bangladesh, a small cricketing nation in their eyes,’ Sadik said.
The BCB was set to form a three-member anti-corruption tribunal keeping in line with its anti-corruption code of conduct for players and officials after receiving the report from the International Cricket Council’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit.
On August 27, the 14-day deadline ended for all individuals charged with match-fixing to plead guilty or not guilty. Only four individuals, the two cricketers and two owners of Dhaka Gladiators franchise are reported to have submitted their papers pleading not guilty.
All of the accused are now waiting for the BCB to form the tribunal, which BCB’s acting chief executive officer Nizmudding Ahmed Chowdhury conceded was delayed due to procedural reasons.
‘We also want to form the tribunal as quickly as possible but could not do so as we are taking everything into account before announcing it,’ Nizamuddin told reporters at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.
‘When the tribunal is formed and starts working everything will be visible,’ he said.
-With New Age input
