Former South African pacer Lonwabo Tsotsobe caught for fixing

Johannesburg: Cricket South Africa (CSA) has provisionally suspended former pacer Lonwabo Tsotsobe for breaching its Anti-Corruption Code. Tsotsobe has been suspended from playing, coaching or otherwise being involved in any capacity in any match under CSA’s jurisdiction or that of the ICC or any other ICC member. The charges against Tsotsobe follow a lengthy investigation, which started around October 2015 by CSA’s Anti-Corruption Unit and that resulted in bans of Gulam Bodi, Jean Symes, Pumi Matshikwe, Ethy Mbhalati, Thami Tsolekile and Alviro Petersen for offences under the Code relating to the local 2015 RAM SLAM T20 Challenge Series.

Among other offences, the 33-year-old Tsotsobe has been charged with contriving to fix or otherwise improperly influence the result of the match or matches in the 2015 RAM SLAM T20 Challenge Series. Tsotsobe was seeking to accept, accepted or agreed to accept a bribe or reward to fix or contrive to fix or influence improperly a match or matches. He failed to disclose the receipt of a gift or payment that he knew or ought to have known was given to him to procure a breach of the Code or that was made in circumstances that could bring him or the sport of cricket into disrepute.

The investigation was initiated after allegations that India-born Bodi was acting as an intermediary for international betting syndicates, approaching certain players with a view of engaging in fixing activities during the competition. In January 2016, CSA imposed a 20-year ban on Bodi after he admitted to charges of contriving or attempting to fix matches in the series, allegedly at the behest of the Indian bookmakers.