The anti-corruption tribunal of the International Cricket Council on Monday handed over a 7-year ban from all cricket to former Sri Lankan performance analyst Sanath Jayasundara after he was found guilty of breaching the ICC anti-corruption code.
The case pertains to an attempt made by Sanath Jayasundara to bribe Sri Lanka’s then sports minister Harin Fernando in January 2019 to “influence improperly the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of an international match”.
The tribunal found Jayasundara guilty of two charges: Article 2.1.3—offering bribes or other rewards to the country’s sports minister to contrive in any way or otherwise influence improperly the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of an international match and Article 2.4.7—obstructing or delaying an ACU investigation into possible corrupt conduct under the anti-corruption code.
“Jayasundara’s attempt to bribe a Minister is serious offence while the efforts to cover up his tracks and the lack of remorse are massively disappointing,” Alex Marshall, general manager of the ICC’s integrity unit, said in a statement.
“We won’t tolerate corrupt conduct in our sport and my team will be relentless in preventing such behaviour. This ban should serve as a deterrent for anyone who may be tempted along the wrong path,” the statement further said.
The ban is backdated to 11 May 2019, the day when Sanath was provisionally suspended under corruption charges. According to the reports, Fernando reported the alleged attempted bribe to the ACU at the time of it taking place, less than a month after he took charge as the sports minister in December 2018.
Jayasundara had been associated with Sri Lanka Cricket for a long time. He had worked with Sri Lanka’s Under-19 team, along with his responsibility at the board’s Brain Centre. He was also employed with the men’s national team in the past.
