West Indies cricketer Javon Searles has been suspended by the International Cricket Council (ICC) after he was found guilty of breaching the Anti-Corruption Code. The corruption charges are linked to the player’s participation in the Bim10 League which was held in Barbados in 2023/24. Along with the player, two other officials who are a part of the team have been suspended as well.
West Indies star found guilty of match-fixing
As per an ICC release, Searles, along with Chitranjan Rathod and Trevon Griffith, have been suspended after being found guilty of breaching several aspects of the Anti-Corruption Code. While Griffith faces one charge under the Cricket West Indies (CWI) Anti-Corruption Code, Titans owner Rathod faces three charges, while Seales has four to his name. Previously, USA star Aaron Jones was also suspended for the same reason.
Charges against the three
- Breach of Article 2.1.1 of the CWI Code – Fixing, contriving to fix or otherwise influencing improperly, or being a party to an agreement or effort to fix or contrive in any way or otherwise influence improperly,the result, progress, conduct or other aspect of matches in the Bim10 tournament in 2023/24 (or attempting to do so).
- Breach of Article 2.1.4 of the CWI Code – Soliciting, instructing, encouraging or facilitating Players and/or Player Support Personnel to commit offences under the CWI Code.
- Breach of Article 2.4.4 of the CWI Code – Failing or refusing to cooperate with a reasonable investigation carried out by the Designated Anti-Corruption Official (or his/her designee) in relation to possible offences under the CWI Code.
Searles and Giffith have also been charged with:
- Breach of Article 2.4.2 of the CWI Code – Failing to disclose to Cricket West Indies details of any approaches or invitations to engage in conduct that would amount to a breach of the CWI Code.
In addition, Mr. Griffith has been charged with:
- Breach of Article 2.4.7 of the ICC Code – Obstructing the ACU’s investigation into possible Corrupt Conduct by concealing and/or tampering with information that may have been relevant to the investigation, or which may have constituted evidence or led to the discovery of evidence of Corrupt Conduct.
The trio have been given 14 days to respond to the charges while they have been suspended from March 11.
