SIU seeks ICC assistance to gather more evidence related to investigation
The Police Special Investigative Unit (SIU), set up under the Prevention of Offences Related to Sports Act, is seeking the assistance of the International Cricket Council (ICC) to gather evidence related to the investigation on alleged match-fixing charges against former Sri Lanka cricketer Sachithra Senanayake, the court heard on Monday.
Senanayake, who was in remand custody for over 20 days, was released on two surety bails worth Rs. 5mn each when the case was taken up before Colombo Chief Magistrate Prasanna de Alwis on Monday.
During the hearing police told court that Senanayake has provided contradictory statements, as related to statements made by other witnesses, and has failed to provide the SIU with proper material. He was ordered to hand over three mobile phone devices to the SIU back in March of 2021, but has only surrendered two of the objects as per the order.
Senanayake had stated that the third mobile device would be handed over to the SIU, but this hasn’t been done, arousing more suspicions among investigators that he “could be deliberately misleading the investigation process”.
The SIU recorded a statement from Senanayake on September 19 while under remand custody, but he only repeated similar statements as given earlier. With the investigators failing to make a breakthrough, SIU had asked the ICC for more information related to the enquiry. It had been told by the ICC that it had recordings of a conversation which could be helpful towards SIU’s investigation.
The report further states that the individuals Senanayake had had contacts with could be ‘bookmakers’ or ‘fixers’. SIU notified the Court that it had requested the ICC to provide the recordings for further investigations.
Earlier in September, the Colombo Magistrate’s Court slapped a travel ban on the 38-year-old former Sri Lanka spinner and his passport was impounded after the Attorney General’s Department asked for more time to investigate an incident from the 2020 Lanka Premier League (LPL). It will be in place till October 16, when the case is due to be taken up again.
The former T20 World Cup-winning cricketer is reported to have approached two cricketers participating in the first edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) in 2020 via phone calls from Dubai, allegedly to entice them to fix matches. This is a criminal offence in Sri Lanka.
His arrest was following the Attorney General’s (AG) Department’s directive to press criminal charges against the former cricketer as “sufficient materials have been disclosed in terms of the Prevention of Offences related to Sports Act No. 24 of 2019”.
Senanayake has refuted this allegation, claiming there were attempts to defame and slander him. He has vehemently denied any connection between him and the reports.
Corruption in sports was made a punishable offence by the enactment of the Prevention of Offences Related to Sports Act in 2019.
This will be the first case that goes to trial since the enactment of the law. If proven guilty, Senanayake on conviction will be liable to a fine not exceeding Rs. 100mn or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 10 years, or both.