DUBAI: Former West Indies batter Marlon Samuels has been found guilty of four offences under the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) anti-corruption code by an independent anti-corruption tribunal, as per ESPNCricinfo.
After the hearing in the tribunal, Samuels, who was charged by the ICC in September 2021, was found guilty. The tribunal will decide on sanctions after examining each party’s submissions.
The charges are related to the 2019 edition of the Abu Dhabi T10, a tournament organised by the ECB. Samuels was drafted into the Karnataka Tuskers squad but did not compete in the event.
Samuels was charged with breaching four articles of the ECB’s anti-corruption code:
Article 2.4.2 – Failing to disclose to the Designated Anti-Corruption Official, the receipt of any gift, payment, hospitality or other benefit that was made or given in circumstances that could bring the Participant or the sport of cricket into disrepute.
Article 2.4.3 – Failing to disclose to the Designated Anti-Corruption Official receipt of hospitality with a value of US $750 or more.
Article 2.4.6 – Failing to cooperate with the Designated Anti-Corruption Official’s investigation.
Article 2.4.7 – Obstructing or delaying the Designated Anti-Corruption Official’s investigation by concealing information that may have been relevant to the investigation.
The tribunal found him guilty on all four counts, the first by a majority vote and the other three unanimously.
Samuels announced his retirement in November 2020, following a career that included 71 Tests, 207 ODIs, and 67 T20Is, as well as over 11,000 international runs and 17 hundreds. While his record suggested he never made the most of his opulent potential, his highs were phenomenal, most notably when he top-scored in the 2012 and 2016 T20 World Cup finals.
During his career, he was no stranger to controversy, with the lowest point being a two-year ban after being found guilty in May 2008 of “receiving money, benefit, or other reward that could bring him or the game of cricket into disrepute.”
Samuels was one of 19 Jamaican cricketers featured on a mural painted at Sabina Park in 2021 as part of a bigger art project aimed at making Kingston a “destination city.”(ANI)