CBI to set up special sports-fraud unit

India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has decided to set up a new unit called the Sports Frauds Investigation Unit (SFIO) to specifically investigate corruption in sports, including match-fixing, the Hindustan Times has reported. The formation of the unit is likely to be formally announced on April 15, a day before the start of the IPL 2014.

One of the primary roles of the SFIO will be to build capabilities to tackle corruption in sports by liaising with law-enforcement agencies, sports federations and local police from around the world. The unit will also help in training and educating other agencies by acting as a resource base. It will engage with the sports ministry, which is in the process of finalising a bill - the Prevention of Sporting Fraud Bill, 2013 - that criminalises sports fraud, and help it in the framing of policies that deter instances of corruption.

IPL 2013 was first hit by allegations of spot-fixing on May 16, in relation to which three Rajasthan Royals players were detained by Delhi Police. Then, on May 24, Gurunath Meiyappan, an official of Chennai Super Kings franchise and son-in-law of the BCCI president N Srinivasan, was arrested in Mumbai on charges of cheating, forgery and fraud following which he was suspended by the BCCI.