Marlon Samuels found guilty of breaching anti-corruption code

An independent anti-corruption tribunal has found the former West Indies batter Marlon Samuels guilty of four offences under the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) anti-corruption code. Samuels, who was charged by the ICC in September 2021, was found guilty after he exercised his right to a hearing.

The tribunal will decide on a sanction after considering the submissions of each party.

The charges relate to the 2019 edition of the Abu Dhabi T10, a tournament held under the aegis of the ECB. Samuels was drafted into the Karnataka Tuskers squad, but did not play the tournament.

Samuels was charged with breaching these 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 decision, and the other three by unanimous decisions.

Samuels announced his retirement in November 2020, after a career in which he played 71 Tests, 207 ODIs and 67 T20Is, and scored over 11,000 international runs and 17 centuries.

While his record suggested he never made the most of his sumptuous talent, his highs were spectacular, most notably when he top-scored in the T20 World Cup finals of 2012 and 2016.

He was no stranger to controversy during his career, the lowest point of which was his two-year ban after being found guilty, in May 2008, of “receiving money, or benefit or other reward that could bring him or the game of cricket into disrepute”.

In 2021, Samuels became one of 19 Jamaican cricketers to feature on a mural unveiled at Sabina Park as part of a larger art project that aims to turn Kingston into a “destination city”. (ESPNcricinfo)