LONDON, (Reuters) – British customs officials have arrested three people in London as part of an investigation into money-laundering following a police inquiry into allegations of corruption within the Pakistan cricket team.
The investigations followed a British Sunday newspaper report that Pakistan players had been bribed to fix incidents in the fourth test against England which finished at Lord’s on Sunday.
“Three individuals were arrested on Sunday as part of an ongoing investigation into money laundering,” a Customs spokeswoman said yesterday. “This includes two 35-year-olds (a male and a female) from the Croydon area and a 49-year-old male from the Wembley area.
“These individuals were arrested, questioned and have been bailed pending further investigation.”
Police arrested 35-year-old agent Mazar Majeed on Saturday on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers. He was released on bail.
According to a report in The News of the World newspaper, Majeed alleged pace bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif had bowled three no-balls by pre-arrangement.
Amir, Asif and Pakistan test captain Salman Butt will meet the Pakistan High Commissioner in London today, team manager Yawar Saeed told the Geo Super channel in Pakistan.
A Pakistan team source said a British legal expert would attend the meeting. Police confiscated the trio’s mobile phones at the weekend.
ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat told Reuters television in Cape Town that London Metropolitan police were busy gathering forensic evidence. The ICC’s anti-corruption and security unit is working with the police.
“The police are busy with forensic information gathering and piecing that evidence together,” Lorgat said.
“I understand that they will interview some of the players later this week and we will have to take it one day at a time. I’m afraid there is no way we can push the button any quicker.”
A senior official at the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in Karachi told Reuters a three-member team was likely to leave for London today and planned to meet British police and players.
Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the FIA team would depart as soon as it received permission from British authorities.
“We have discussed it today (and) as soon as we get permission from the U.K., we will send our team, we cannot send it before then,” he told reporters in Karachi.
Pakistan will play a warmup game against Somerset in Taunton tomorrow before a seven-match one-day series against England starts with a Twenty20 match in Cardiff on Sunday.
