CSA to charge 5 domestic cricketers due to alleged involvement in match-fixing

Cricket South Africa (CSA) is set to charge at least five South African cricketers due to their alleged involvement in a match-fixing scandal that threw the Rainbow Nation’s most popular cricket tournament, the Ram Slam T20 Challenge into turmoil, earlier this summer.

It has been reported that out of the five cricketers that have made the headlines due to the match-fixing scandal, four are from the Highveld Lions whereas, the remaining one plays for the Unlimited Titans, or simply the Titans.

It is also believed that all the five cricketers are quite close to a certain Gulam Bodi who is banned by Cricket South Africa from all cricket-related activities for a period of 20 years due to his alleged role as an intermediary for a number of illegal Asian sub-continent-based gambling syndicates.

According to The Independent, one of South Africa's leading print media production companies, there is also a sixth cricketer involved in the match-fixing debacle who is reportedly still under investigation. Cricket South Africa along with other investigative officers are yet to unearth the exact nature of his involvement in the scandal.

However, a couple of cricketers, Alviro Peterson and Lonwabo Tsotsobe have publicly admitted to the fact that they had been investigated.

The match-fixing scandal rose into the attention of the South African cricket board last November, when they announced that several attempts had been made to fix a number of matches in the Ram Slam T20 Challenge.

The Ram Slam T20 Challenge is broadcasted worldwide and hence, is very much susceptible to a number of illegal gambling syndicates who mainly operate from either the Asian sub-continent or the Middle Eastern countries.

Charges have been set against Gulam Bodi and the five cricketers

It is believed that Gulam Bodi, along with the five cricketers will be charged under the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act of 2004 that includes a clause which is specific to corrupting sporting events in a number of ways, such as match-fixing.

The aforementioned clause, a reference to the late South African skipper, Hansie Cronje, is popularly known as the 'Hansie’ clause.

The clause states, “Any person who… accepts or agrees or offers to accept any gratification from any other person… or gives or agrees or offers to give to any other person any gratification... in return for engaging in any act which constitutes a threat to or undermines the integrity of any sporting event… including‚ in any way influencing the run of play or the outcome of a sporting event; or not reporting the act… is guilty of the offence of corrupt activities relating to sporting events.”