Daily Times

LAHORE: Islamabad United player Khalid Latif has been charged by the Anti-Corruption Tribunal (ACT) of the Pakistan Cricket Board for his alleged involvement in spot-fixing during the Pakistan Super League (PSL) II which concluded in March this year. The Pakistan batsman has been charged with six breaches of the PCB’s Anti-Corruption Code. Latif and his legal team have agreed to the PCB’s adopted timelines, with a formal hearing set for May 15 in Lahore. He has been given a deadline of May 5 to respond to his alleged code-of-conduct breaches. Over a month after Latif was suspended by the PCB for his suspected involvement in spot-fixing, he presented himself before the ACT during a preliminary hearing at the National Cricket Academy here Friday. The tribunal is being headed by a former Lahore High Court Judge, Asghar Haider, with former Test wicket-keeper Wasim Bari and former PCB chairman Lt Gen (r) Tauqir Zia as members. “Latif has been directed to respond to the charges by May 5, to which the PCB may offer a rebuttal by May 10. A final hearing will commence on May 19 on a day-to-day basis,” a spokesman for the PCB said. The spokesman added that the board would submit an opening brief detailing its claims along with evidence by April 14.

Latif, who was barred from playing in the PSL after the scandal came to light, has been charged with violations of the PCB’s Anti-Corruption Code pertaining to fixing results. He has also been charged with failure to act in accordance with the rules of the PCB vigilance department and inform the board that he had been approached to participate in ‘corrupt conduct.’ The three-member ACT set up by the PCB began conducting hearings regarding the spot-fixing case earlier this week. Four other cricketers including Sharjeel, Khalid, Mohammad Irfan, Shahzaib Hasan and Nasir Jamshed have been suspended by the PCB Anti-Corruption Unit in the PSL spot-fixing case. The ACU has already interrogated Sharjeel, Khalid, Irfan and Shahzaib and suspended them, whereas Nasir Jamshed was suspended without a hearing since he is in London where the British government has seized his passport. The ACU is to visit London to interrogate Nasir there for which visas have been applied.

Meanwhile, fast bowler Mohammad Irfan, who has been banned for one year from all forms of cricket and fined Rs one million for failing to report an approach during the same tournament, has been handed a lifeline by the PCB. He will be able to return after six months if he assists the board in its ongoing investigations into the PSL corruption scandal, and doesn’t breach the board’s anti-corruption code in that time.

Latif has been charged under the following articles of the PCB Anti-Corruption Code for Participants 2015:

Article 2.1.1: Fixing or contriving in any way or otherwise influencing improperly, or being a party to any agreement or effort to fix or contrive in any way or otherwise influence improperly, the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of any Domestic Match, including (without limitation) by deliberately under-performing therein.

Article 2.1.2: Ensuring for betting or other corrupt purposes the occurrence of a particular incident in a domestic match.

Article 2.1.3: Seeking, accepting, offering or agreeing to accept any bribe or other reward to (a) fix or to contrive in any way or otherwise to influence improperly the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of any domestic match or (b) ensure for betting or other corrupt purposes the occurrence of a particular incident in a domestic match.

Article 2.4.4: Failing to disclose to the PCB Vigilance and Security Department (without unnecessary delay) full details of any approaches or invitations received by the participant to engage in Corrupt Conduct under this Anti-Corruption Code.

Article 2.4.5: Failing or refusing to disclose to the PCB Vigilance and Security Department (without unnecessary delay) full details of any incident, fact, or matter that comes to the attention of a participant that may evidence Corrupt Conduct under this Anti-Corruption Code by another participant, including (without limitation) approaches or invitations that have been received by another participant to engage in conduct that would amount to a breach of this Anti-Corruption Code.