Cricket legend Sanath Jayasuriya was slapped with a two-year ban, starting October15, 2018 after he had admitted to breaching two counts of the ICC Anti-Corruption Code.  The chargers are related to concealing information and failure to cooperate with any investigations carried out by the ACU but not related to corruption.

Jayasuriya, the former Sri Lanka Cricket Chair of Selectors, admitted to being in breach of the following provisions of the Code:

Article 2.4.6 – Failure or refusal, without compelling justification, to cooperate with any investigation carried out by the ACU, including failure to provide accurately and completely any information and/or documentation requested by the ACU as part of such investigation.

Article 2.4.7 – Obstructing or delaying any investigation that may be carried out by the ACU, including concealing, tampering with or destroying any documentation or other information that may be relevant to that investigation and/or that may be evidence or may lead to the discovery of evidence of corrupt conduct under the Anti-Corruption Code.

As a result of the admissions, he has accepted a sanction of a two-year period of ineligibility.  The ban is however not related to corruption, betting or misuse of inside information chares.

“It is unfortunate that even though I provided the ICC ACU with all the information as demanded by the officials the ICC ACU thought it fit to charge me under the Code although there were no allegations of Corruption, Betting or Misuse of Inside Information,” Jayasuriya said in a statement minutes after ICC imposed the ban.

“I reiterate the fact that I have always maintained a high degree of integrity throughout my cricketing career. I have always put country first and the cricket loving public are the best witnesses to this aspect”.

ICC said in a statement quoting Alex Marshall, ICC General Manager – ACU said: “This conviction under the Code demonstrates the importance of participants in cricket cooperating with investigations. Compelling participants to cooperate under the Code is a vital weapon in our efforts to rid our sport of corruptors. These rules are essential to maintain the integrity of our sport.

The conviction of Mr Jayasuriya is the latest part of a much broader ICC ACU investigation into corruption in cricket in Sri Lanka. The ACU recently held an amnesty in relation to Sri Lankan Cricket resulting in eleven players and other participants coming forward with new information.

Marshall added: “The amnesty has worked very well and has delivered significant new and important intelligence. This new information has assisted a number of our ongoing investigations and has resulted in some new investigations getting underway.

Jayasuriya also said that upon receiving legal advice, he cooperated fully with the investigators.

“After receiving the said Notice of Charge, I obtained legal advice and contemplated my response to the said charges. I was faced with two options; I could have either denied the said charges, in which case the said charges would have to be determined at a full hearing before an Anti-Corruption Tribunal constituted under the Code or I could admit the charges in lieu of a hearing and face a sanction in the form of a period of ineligibility,” Jayasuriya added in the statement.

Emplaning the circumstances surrounding the alleged failure, on his part, to provide the sim card and iPhone to the ICC ACU Officials immediately on demand, he said were very personal in nature and a full hearing before an Anti-Corruption Tribunal would have entailed an in-depth examination on whether these surrounding circumstances would amount to a compelling justification as provided for in Article 2.4.6 of the Code.

“It was understood that such a process would exhaust a lot of time, resources, effort (both mentally and physically) and money from both the ICC ACU and myself. Although, I subsequently provided the sim card and iPhone to the ICC ACU, in light of the on-going war against Corruption and in recognition of the fundamental sporting imperatives as contained in Article 1.1 of the Code, I decided to admit the said charges at the first instance for the love of the Sport of Cricket, for the greater good and to protect the integrity of the Sport of Cricket.

Having admitted the said charges, I voluntarily suspended myself until the Charges against me were determined from the date of Notice of Charge i.e. 15th of October 2018 and I sought for an opportunity to mitigate the possible sanction against me and an opportunity for an Agreed Sanction under Article 5.1.12 of the Code,” Jayasuriya further explained.

A MESSAGE TO MY FANS

As some of you maybe aware I was charged under the ICC Anti-Corruption Code (the Code) by Notice of Charge dated 15th October 2018 signed by Iain Higgins, General Counsel of the AntiCorruption Unit (ACU) of the International Cricket Council (ICC). The said Notice contained the following charges against me purportedly based on a finding made by the ICC ACU;

Article 2.4.6 – Failure or refusal, without compelling justification, to cooperate with any investigation carried out by the ACU, including failure to provide accurately and completely any information and/or documentation requested by the ACU as part of such investigation. And alternatively,

Article 2.4.7 – Obstructing or delaying any investigation that may be carried out by the ACU, including concealing, tampering with or destroying any documentation or other information that may be relevant to that investigation and/or that may be evidence or may lead to the discovery of evidence of corrupt conduct under the Anti-Corruption Code.

The purported finding of the ACU stems from an alleged failure, on my part, to cooperate with the investigation carried out by the ACU by not providing a sim card and iPhone immediately on demand to the ICC ACU Officials. It is clear that there were no Corruption charges, Betting charges or Misuse of Inside Information charges (Article 2.1, Article 2.2 and Article 2.3) levelled against me under the Code.

After receiving the said Notice of Charge, I obtained legal advice and contemplated my response to the said charges. I was faced with two options; I could have either denied the said charges, in which case the said charges would have to be determined at a full hearing before an AntiCorruption Tribunal constituted under the Code or I could admit the charges in lieu of a hearing and face a sanction in the form of a period of ineligibility.

The circumstances surrounding the alleged failure, on my part, to provide the sim card and iPhone to the ICC ACU Officials immediately on demand were very personal in nature and a full hearing before an Anti-Corruption Tribunal would have entailed an in-depth examination on whether these surrounding circumstances would amount to a compelling justification as provided for in Article 2.4.6 of the Code.

It was understood that such a process would exhaust a lot of time, resources, effort (both mentally and physically) and money from both the ICC ACU and myself. Although, I subsequently provided the sim card and iPhone to the ICC ACU, in light of the on-going war against Corruption and in recognition of the fundamental sporting imperatives as contained in Article 1.1 of the Code, I decided to admit the said charges at the first instance for the love of the Sport of Cricket, for the greater good and to protect the integrity of the Sport of Cricket. Having admitted the said charges, I voluntarily suspended myself until the Charges against me were determined from the date of Notice of Charge i.e. 15th of October 2018 and I sought for an opportunity to mitigate the possible sanction against me and an opportunity for an Agreed Sanction under Article 5.1.12 of the Code.

Consequent to correspondence between the ICC ACU officials and my lawyers we agreed to a sanction of a period of ineligibility of two (2) years, which period is to take effect from the 15th of October 2018. It is unfortunate that even though I provided the ICC ACU with all the information as demanded by the officials the ICC ACU thought it fit to charge me under the Code although there were no allegations of Corruption, Betting or Misuse of Inside Information.

I reiterate the fact that I have always maintained a high degree of integrity throughout my cricketing career. I have always put country first and the cricket loving public are the best witnesses to this aspect. I profusely thank the public of Sri Lanka and my fans for having stood by me during this difficult period. I thank the Anti-Corruption Unit for the hearing accorded to me and I take this opportunity to thank my lawyers Mr. Kalinga Indatissa Presidents Counsel and Mr. Vishwa de Livera Tennekoon Attorney-at-Law for their support.

Sanath Jayasuriya