A Bangladesh-born former franchise owner was sentenced to a 4-year jail term in a match-fixing case. Tamim Rahman, the Bangladesh-born team owner and a British citizen, tried to influence a player in 2024 to fix a match.
Rahman was the owner of a team in the Lankan Premier League (LPL), Sri Lanka‘s own cricket franchise tournament. He was the owner of ‘Dambulla Thunders.’
Why was the Bangladesh-born found guilty?
On January 28, the Colombo High Court imposed a fine of Rs. 24 million on the accused, who was given a suspended prison sentence. He was sentenced to four years of rigorous imprisonment, with the sentence suspended for 5 years.
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Back on May 22, 2024, Rahman was arrested at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake. The Sports Ministry’s Special Investigations Unit caught the Bangladesh-born in relation to allegations of match-fixing. Since then, the former franchise owner has remained under the judicial system.
Last year in November, he was presented in front of the court under the Prevention of Offences Relating to Sports Act. He was charged with the allegations of influencing a cricketer, who was part of the league in 2024.
The cricketer informed the higher authority
The cricketer, with whom Tamil Rahman was in contact during LPL 2024, informed the higher authority about the matter. By then, Sri Lanka had already formed a separate body only to avoid any type of corruption in the country.
Rahman, while trying to leave the country, was caught by the special investigation unit at the airport. In a previous hearing, Rahman pleaded guilty to the charges but went on to skip bail after getting it. The hearing process and the stance taken by the court are considered landmarks for Sri Lanka, especially for Sri Lankan sports.
Through this verdict, the authority made its position clear against corruption in sports. According to media reports, when the case was previously taken up for hearing before Colombo High Court Judge Udesh Ranatunga, President’s Counsel Kalinga Indatissa, who appeared for the defendant, informed the court that his client was prepared to conclude the case expeditiously and had submitted the facts to the Attorney General in this regard.
Accordingly, when this case was taken up today, the defendant informed the court that he would plead guilty to the relevant charges. The judge imposed the aforementioned sentence on him.
A Pakistan national also involved in the case
According to a report published by the Times of India, the Bangladesh born was detained at Colombo airport while attempting to board a flight to Dubai and spent several weeks in custody before being released on bail.
The court official said an arrest warrant has been issued for team manager Mujeeb Ur Rehman, a Pakistani national, who is also accused in the case.
