A former Pakistani cricketer and two others were jailed at the Manchester Crown Court on Friday for bribing cricketers to fix elements of the Bangladesh Premier League T20 tournament and the Pakistan Super League matches.
Ex-cricketer Nasir Jamshed, 33, from Oldbury, and British nationals Yousaf Anwar, 36, and Mohammad Ijaz, 34, admitted their roles in the conspiracy following a covert investigation by Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA).
Jamshed, Anwar and Ijaz were sentenced to 17 months, 3 years and 4 months, and 2 years and 6 months respectively.
Using an undercover officer, NCA investigators identified that the group were plotting to fix elements of the 2016 Bangladesh Premier League T20 tournament which Jamshed was due to play in, the agency said.
Anwar and Ijaz developed a system by which they would identify a professional player willing to partake in an agreed fix, and the player would signal at the start of the match to confirm the fix was on. Typically, they would charge £30,000 per fix with half of that going to the player
The three made further plans to fix Pakistan Super League matches in Dubai. In February 2017 Anwar flew to Dubai to meet other players, including Islamabad United teammates Khalid Latif and Sharjeel Khan, who agreed to play their part in corrupting elements of a game.
{{/usCountry}}The three made further plans to fix Pakistan Super League matches in Dubai. In February 2017 Anwar flew to Dubai to meet other players, including Islamabad United teammates Khalid Latif and Sharjeel Khan, who agreed to play their part in corrupting elements of a game.
{{/usCountry}}Before flying out to join them Anwar was captured on CCTV purchasing 28 different coloured cricket bat handle grips from a wholesalers in St Albans where he gave Ijaz’s name and address for the receipt. These would subsequently be used by the players as the signal to show the fix was going ahead.
Jamshed was arrested by NCA officers at his home in Birmingham, and Anwar was arrested at Heathrow Airport after flying back from Dubai. Ijaz was detained at his home in Sheffield ten days later.
Jamshed, Latif, Khan, and a fourth player, Mohammed Irfan, were suspended by the Pakistan Cricket Board following subsequent tribunal hearings.
Ian McConnell of NCA said: “These men abused their privileged access to professional, international cricket to corrupt games, eroding public confidence for their own financial gain”.
“I would like the thank the England and Wales Cricket Board, International Cricket Council, Gambling Commission and Pakistan Cricket Board for their ongoing support throughout this investigation.