LONDON – British prosecutors charged former Pakistani cricket captain Salman Butt and opening bowlers Muhammad Asif and Mohammad Amir on Friday with taking bribes to fix incidents in the fourth cricket test against England at Lord’s last year.
The trio is accused of arranging incidents, such as bowling no-balls at pre-agreed times, during the match. Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service said the trio, along with a fourth man, 35-year-old sports agent Mazhar Majeed of Croydon, England, had been charged with conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments and with conspiracy to cheat.
“These charges relate to allegations that Mr Majeed accepted money from a third party to arrange for the players to bowl “no balls” on August 26 and 27, 2010, during Pakistan’s fourth test at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London,” said Simon Clements, head of the CPS Special Crime Division.
Amir, who left on Friday for Doha for the ICC tribunal verdict, told a private TV channel he had just learnt about the decision. “I don’t know the details. It has come as a surprise and I will now be consulting my lawyer for further course of action,” Amir said. The International Cricket Council and the Pakistan Cricket Board said they had no comment on Friday.
The CPS’s Clements said Majeed had been ordered to appear at London’s City of Westminster Magistrates Court on March 17. “Summonses for the same court date have been issued for the three players and they have been asked to return to this country voluntarily, as they agreed to do in September last year,” Clements said.
“Their extradition will be sought should they fail to return.” The three players, who have all denied wrongdoing, will learn on Saturday if they face sporting sanctions when they hear the verdict of an independent anti-corruption tribunal, convened by the ICC, in Doha.
Spot-fixing scandal – UK indicts Salman, Asif and Amir
