Approaching a mastermind
A brain is about to be reported while investigators are questioning a known fixer in Delhi, Marshall told Telegraph Sport. According to the general manager, ’10 to 12 ‘people working as bookmakers in India can be related to most of the arrangement cases in cricket.
Uva League in Punjab
The Uva T20 league, which was shown to be played in Sri Lanka but held on a field in the village of Sawara in Mohali, which was first reported by The Indian Express, was mentioned by Marshall to highlight how the corrupters are innovating. Ravinder Dandiwal, who allegedly also arranged tennis matches around the world, was arrested by Punjab police for an alleged link to the Uva T20 League. During the pandemic, corrupters turned their attention to players whose livelihoods had been affected, including those who play cricket at the club level in Europe, according to the report.
Name and shame policy
Known corrupters will have their name, mugshot and aliases uploaded to the ICC website, a move that will identify corrupters faster. The ICC will also use article 2.4.9, according to which known bookmakers or others trying to make quick money can be called “excluded persons”. Once the players meet these “excluded people”, they must stay away from them.
Burner phones
Marshall compared the use of the latest technology by bookmakers to avoid being tracked, while communicating and making payments, to the arms race during the Cold War. “There is an increase in the use of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies to transfer payments,” Marshall said. He also mentions applications where messages disappear and also burner phones (cheap phones with prepaid minutes of use and purchased without a contract) that are used to avoid detection.
Fixers as ‘team owners’
Recently, this document reported that the head of India’s anti-corruption unit, Ajit Singh, had asked the BCCI to find a way to curb corruption in the T20 leagues based on franchises run by state associations.
Owners without a clear source of income and charge sheets filed against owners, players and coaches is what Singh had pointed out. Marshall explained how the repairmen were the true owners and that they supported others to be the face of the team. “In franchise leagues … people present themselves as owners, but behind the scenes, secretly, they (the repairmen) are the real owners who put in the money …”
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