The Attorney General’s (AG) Department is set to appeal against the sentence handed down to Prem Thakkar, the Indian owner of the Galle Marvels after he pleaded guilty to a match-fixing charge under Sri Lanka’s Prevention of Offences Related to Sports Act No.24 of 2019.

On 29 May, Thakkar was given a two-year imprisonment, suspended for a decade and was imposed a fine of Rs. 6 million. He was also instructed to pay compensation of Rs. 1 million to West Indies cricketer Andre Fletcher who reported the approach.

In addition, the Kandy High Court granted a request by the ICC Anti-Corruption Unit to download and examine data from Thakkar’s mobile phone as part of ongoing probe before handing over the same to Thakkar. 

When the indictment was served before High Court Judge Saman Kariyawasam, the accused had pleaded guilty to the charges of attempting to entice the West Indian player to fix matches.

The accused was said to have had a lengthy discussion with Fletcher with the intention of tempting him to perform a match-fixing act last year.

However, Fletcher approached the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Anti-Corruption Unit to report the incident. In response, the ICC had advised Fletcher to record the next discussion as evidence. 

Subsequently, the following meeting that took place at Cinnamon Citadel Hotel in Kandy with Thakkar had been recorded by Fletcher as proof.

Thakkar’s arrest was made afterwards by the Sports Ministry’s Special Investigation Unit (SIU) under the Prevention of Offences Related to Sports Act.

Fletcher alleged that Thakkar offered him $ 15,000 to intentionally lose a match and $ 30,000 to allow a ‘nominated bowler’ to participate under questionable circumstances. Additionally, Fletcher claimed that he was offered the captaincy of Galle Marvels as part of the deal.

Senior State Counsel Udara Karunaratne appeared for the State whilst Wasantha Fernando appeared for the accused.

 (JK)