Case study: Ashfaq AHMED and Amir HAYAT

Following an extensive investigation by the ICC ACU, in September 2020, UAE Cricketers, Ashfaq AHMED and Amir HAYAT were charged with various offences under the ICC Anti-Corruption Code in relation to the 2019 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier.

The charges centered on actions of the players prior to the Qualifier event, whereby the pair met with a corruptor in a carpark in Dubai, accepting AED15,000 (USD4,000 approximately) to engage in corrupt conduct during the qualifier and failing to report it. Neither HAYAT nor AHMED reported receiving this money (which exceeds the value of USD750 gift under the Code), nor the corrupt approach, to any Anti-Corruption team.

The players were intercepted before the Qualifiers, thereby disrupting any plans to corrupt at the event. It is noted that both AHMED and HAYAT had attended several ICC Anti-Corruption sessions prior to engaging with the corruptor and were well aware of the threat to cricket from match-fixers.

AHMED stated that he had first met the corrupter at a domestic match in the UAE. HAYAT and AHMED alleged that the other initiated the meeting with the corruptor and were the one who took physical possession of the payment. It is not known what the specific fix was going to be. However, both effectively acknowledge that the money was given in suspicious circumstances and likely given to them for corrupt purposes.

Following a full hearing and presentation of written and oral arguments, in June 2021, a Tribunal found both AHMED and HAYAT guilty in relation to their charges and they both received an eight-year ban from all forms of cricket. Their bans were backdated to September 2020 when both were provisionally suspended.