AGO to ACB: Probe APL corruption claims

KABUL Primer League (APL) to the cricket board for an investigation.

APL was held in the United Arab Emirates last year. Pajhwok Afghan News has obtained documents showing 10 vulnerable areas in APL. The International Cricket Council has demanded an investigation.

On September 12, 2019, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) urged the AGO to investigate alleged corruption in the league.

The ACB has also terminated the APL Sanction and Commercial Rights Agreement with Snixer Sports and postponed season II of the league to next year.

Snixer Sports’ failure to pay the complete rights fees of the first edition as per schedule was one of the reasons for the termination of the agreement.

The ACB wrote to the Attorney General’s Office to fully investigate the allegations of administrative corruption in the league.

But the Indian company rejected the allegations in a statement on its Facebook page and said: “We deny any/all allegations against us by ACB over APL. We want to place it on record there had been no material breach by us.”

On the other hand, AGO spokesman Jamshed Rassouli told Pajhwok Afghan News the ACB had sent them a letter regarding corruption.

Subsequently, the AGO investigated the corruption allegations. “But there were no documents or concrete information in the ACB letter.

“Under the law of the land, the ACB should investigate and then send the primary result along with documents to the AGO,” he explained.

According to Rassouli, the AGO has shared the issue with the ACB, which has been asked to probe the alleged corruption itself before referring the case to prosecutors.

Pajhwok repeatedly contacted ACB spokesman Fareed Hotak, but he refused to comment on the issue.

Babrak Omar, a cricket expert, alleged the ACB did not have the capacity for holding the 2^nd edition of APL and had made corruption an excuse to hide its inefficiency.

“ACB doesn’t have the intention to investigate corruption in APL. However, the board has symbolically sent cases to AGO,” he remarked.

The expert claimed it was the ACB, not the Indian company, which committed corruption. The Snixer Sports has also filed a complaint against the ACB in a UAE court.

Amin Khater, another expert, said APL represented a golden chance for promoting cricket in Afghanistan. All people of the country are waiting for another edition of the event.

Cricket reporter and commentator Badam Ahmadzai said the game had become a national sport, bringing happiness to a large number of people. It must be kept free of corruption, he stressed.

He believed anyone involved in corruption should be punished. According to Ahmadzai, the accused must be referred to AGO with relevant documents.

sa/mud

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