Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency launches PSL probe

Wednesday, 22 March 2017 00:12 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

ESPNcricinfo: Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has launched its own investigation into the corruption allegations emanating from the 2017 PSL. The country’s interior ministry also put four players provisionally suspended by the PCB in relation to the case – Sharjeel Khan, Khalid Latif, Mohammad Irfan and Shahzaib Hasan – on an exit control list, preventing them from leaving Pakistan.

Nasir Jamshed, the fifth provisionally suspended player, is based in England and his lawyer informed the PCB of Jamshed’s inability to travel to Lahore. Jamshed had been arrested in the UK as part of the PSL corruption case but was released on bail. The FIA has no treaty with England that allows it to bring Jamshed back to Pakistan for investigation. Latif and Irfan had appeared at the Lahore office of the FIA on Monday in response to a summons from the agency, which said a “enquiry has been registered on the complaint of Subhan Ahmed, Chief Operating Officer PCB” and their presence was required.

There is now more than one inquiry into the corruption allegations in the 2017 PSL – AFP

The PCB, however, distanced themselves from the FIA’s inquiry and ESPNcricinfo understands the board had only written to the FIA requesting assistance in obtaining forensic information from mobile phones in connection to the PSL case.

“No complaint has been made by PCB to FIA to launch an investigation into players’ conduct”, Ahmed told ESPNcricinfo. “We have simply asked FIA to certify the authenticity of the data in players’ mobile phones in PCB’s possession for submission to anti-corruption tribunal as evidence”.

The PCB had formed a three-member tribunal headed by justice Asghar Haider (retired), and including former PCB chairman Tauqir Zia and former wicketkeeper Wasim Bari to hear the cases of Sharjeel and Latif, who had contested some of the charges against them. The hearing was set for March 24. Irfan and Shahzaib had not yet responded to the charge sheet.