Indictment served on Galle Marvels owner
The Attorney General (AG) has filed an indictment at the Kandy High Court against Prem Thakkar, the owner of Galle Marvels, one of the six teams that competed in Sri Lanka’s inaugural Lanka T10 League held in Pallekele last year. Thakkar, an Indian national, has been charged with enticing West Indies international cricketer Andre Fletcher to perform in a manner that affects the outcome of a game that Galle Marvels took part in.
The AG’s Office filed the case last week at the Kandy High Court under Clause 5c of the Prevention of Offences Related to Sports Act of Sri Lanka, which categorises match fixing as a criminal offence. Fletcher was fetched for a fee of USD 60,000 by Galle Marvels, owned by Thakkar, who had arrived in Sri Lanka on December 8, 2024.
Prem Thakkar was reremanded after his first appearance in courts
Upon arrival, Thakkar had visited a renowned casino in Colombo and spent around USD 50,000 to gamble, an incident procured by CCTV footages and produced as witness material to the court. The accused then had returned to his hotel room at Hilton Colombo, where Thakkar is said to have had a lengthy discussion with Fletcher with the intention of tempting him to perform a match fixing act.
Thakkar had left for Kandy the following day while Fletcher approached the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Anti-Corruption Unit to report the incident. In response, the ICC had advised Fletcher to record the next discussion as proof. Subsequently, the following meeting that took place at Cinnamon Citadel Hotel in Kandy with Thakkar was recorded by Fletcher as proof.
Thakkar’s arrest was made thereafter by Sri Lanka’s Sports Ministry’s Special Investigation Unit (SIU) under the Prevention of Offences Related to Sports Act. He was produced to the Colombo Magistrate Court and was later granted bail with the passport impounded. The Colombo Chief Magistrate released Thakkar with a cash bail of Rs. 500,000 and two surety bails of Rs. 5 million each. In addition, the Colombo Chief Magistrate issued a travel ban on the suspect and his passport was impounded.
Fletcher alleged that Thakkar offered him USD 15,000 to deliberately lose a match and USD 30,000 to allow a ‘nominated bowler’ to participate under questionable circumstances. Additionally, Fletcher claimed that he was offered the captaincy of Galle Marvels as part of the deal.
Sri Lanka, which became the first country to criminalise corruption in sports, has seen a rise in match-fixing controversies in recent years. During the previous edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL), Dambulla Thunders’ owner Tamim Rahman was arrested on similar charges. On the same day, Viranjith Thambugala, Chairman of Aura Lanka and a previous owner of the Dambulla franchise, was apprehended over allegations of financial fraud.
In a separate incident, two individuals associated with the Legend Cricket League—a seven-team unsanctioned T20 tournament held in Pallekele in March 2023—were arrested for attempting to coerce former players, including Sri Lanka’s Upul Tharanga and New Zealand’s Neil Broom, into match-fixing. Thakkar becomes the fourth individual accused of match fixing in Sri Lanka during the recent months.
Following his arrest on December 12, 2024, Thakkar gave a statement to officers of the Sports Ministry’s Special Investigation Unit (SIU) under the Prevention of Offences Related to Sports Act, under Criminal Procedure Code 127 the following day to the court. After explaining the possibility of using the statement as an evidence against the suspect, Thakkar presented the one-hour long confidential statement inside the chamber of the Chief Magistrate.
Sri Lanka became the first South Asian country to criminalise match-fixing with the introduction of the Prevention of Sports-Related Corruption Act in 2019. Under this law, offenders face up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to Rs. 100 million (USD 555,000), a penance Thakkar would have to face if found guilty.