South Africa news – Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Thami Tsolekile and Ethy Mbhalati arrested and charged with corruption

They have been charged under section 15 of the Act, which relates to corrupt activities relating to sporting events, including accepting or offering to accept any gratification from another person for engaging in any act which threatens to undermine the integrity of a sporting even or influence the run of play.

All seven players were also given bans of between two and 12 years by CSA, related to their involvement in the game.

The Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act came into effect in the aftermath of the Hansie Cronje match-fixing scandal in 2000, and it is understood that this is the first time it is being used to charge sportspersons with offences. The charges have been laid following an investigation by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), known as the Hawks, a special branch of the South African Police Service that investigates organised and economic crime.

“Corruption undermines the integrity of sport, and the Hawks are determined to safeguard the values of fairness and professionalism in all areas of society. We thank Cricket South Africa for their cooperation and commitment to addressing this scourge,” Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya, National Head of the DPCI, said in a statement issued on Friday.

At the time of initial investigation, CSA said none of the matches in the tournament were affected by fixing after the conspirators’ plans were foiled. It has since been established that Bodi, in collusion with bookmakers from India, approached several players to participate in fixing three matches in the tournament and also understood that none of the fixes actually took place.