Dhaka, Bangladesh : The International Cricket Council has charged nine Bangladesh cricketers and officials with match-fixing and other related offences allegedly committed during this year's Bangladesh Premier League.
The charges were announced Tuesday in Dhaka at a joint news conference held by the ICC and Bangladesh Cricket Board. They alleged offenders were not named.
The charges relate to an alleged conspiracy within the Dhaka Gladiators franchise to engage in match-fixing and spot-fixing activity during matches in the BPL, as well as failures by individuals to report approaches made to them to join the conspiracy, an ICC statement said.
"The evidence uncovered is a grave reminder of the need for the sport to remain vigilant against the continuing threat of corruption, and for players and support personnel to take personal responsibility for protecting the integrity of the game," said ICC chief executive David Richardson.
BCB President Nazmul Hassan added that "the BCB is committed to a zero-tolerance approach towards corruption in the sport and has demonstrated its resolve to deal robustly with such matters."
Letters detailing the allegations have been issued to the relevant individuals Tuesday, but the ICC and BCB declined to name them.
The ICC statement said seven of the individuals have been charged with fixing-related offences, with two others charged for failing to comply with their obligation to report corrupt approaches that were made to them.
Those facing the more serious fixing-related charges have been provisionally suspended and are immediately barred from participating in all cricket activities organized or recognized by the BCB, the ICC or any of the ICC's member associations, pending resolution of the disciplinary proceedings brought against them.
All of the individuals have 14 days to indicate whether they wish to plead guilty or to defend themselves against the charges in a hearing.
The alleged offences were discovered by the ICC's Anti-Corruption and Security Wing, which was engaged by the BCB to provide anti-corruption cover during the BPL 2013.
