Zoysa, Gunawardene charged for breaching ECB Anti-Corruption Code

The International Cricket Council (ICC), on behalf of the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB), has charged Nuwan Zoysa and Avishka Gunawardene for breaching the ECB Anti-Corruption Code for participants in the T10 League.

In a statement, the ICC said the charges relate to the T10 Cricket League played in the UAE in December last year.  The ICC was appointed by the ECB as the designated anti-corruption official for the purpose of the ECB’s code for this tournament and as such, has issued these charges on the ECB’s behalf. The charges follow a recent amnesty to participants who had previously failed to report any information concerning corrupt conduct in Sri Lankan cricket. 

The ICC said Nuwan Zoysa has been charged for being party to an agreement to influence improperly the result, progress, conduct or other aspect(s) of a match, for directly or indirectly soliciting, inducing, enticing, instructing, persuading, encouraging or intentionally facilitating any participant to breach the code article, for failing to disclose to the ACU full details of any approaches or invitations received to engage in corrupt conduct under the code and for failing or refusing, without compelling justification to cooperate with any investigation carried out by the ACU in relation to possible corrupt conduct under the code.

“Mr Zoysa is already suspended as a result of being charged with three breaches of the ICC’s Anti-Corruption Code in November last year, these charges are pending determination. That provisional suspension remains in full force and effect and Mr Zoysa has additionally been provisionally suspended under the ECB code pending the determination of these new charges,” it said. 

Meanwhile, Avishka Gunawardene has been charged for directly or indirectly soliciting, inducing, enticing, instructing, persuading, encouraging or intentionally facilitating any participant to breach the code and for failing to disclose to the ACU (without unnecessary delay) full details of any incident, fact, or matter that comes to the attention of a participant that may have evidence corrupt conduct under the Anti-Corruption Code by another participant. “Mr Gunawardene has also been provisionally suspended under the ECB code pending the determination of these charges. Mr Zoysa and Mr Gunawardene have 14 days from May 09 to respond to the charges,” the ICC said.