Sri Lankan Board beset by bribery allegations (1 Nov 1997)

1 November 1997

Board beset by bribery allegations

Mihir Bose

CLAIMS of bribery in cricket have moved from the dressing-room to the boardroom. The allegations are that a Sri Lankan board official demanded $100,000 from Mark Mascarenhas, chief executive of World Tel, a Connecticut-based company, in return for Sri Lankan television rights, with some of the money designated for the Sri Lankan sports minister, S B Dissanayake, writes Mihir Bose.

The Sri Lankan board's president, Upali Dharmadasa, who made the allegations last weekend, has not named the official. Dharmadasa contacted the minister, claiming he had a tape recording of a phone call with Mascarenhas. In this, Mascarenhas is alleged to have told Dharmadasa that he paid the board official $50,000 - in London during last summer's International Cricket Council meeting - but was upset that he was demanding the balance of $50,000 even before the agreement was signed.

The Sri Lankan minister denied any knowledge of such a deal. He has given the president two weeks to provide conclusive proof and has asked the Sri Lankan Bribery Commission to examine the allegations.

Mascarenhas's American lawyers have written to the Sri Lankan minister, denying the allegations and offering to co-operate in any investigation. Mascarenhas told me: "These allegations are totally false."

As regards the taped phone call which Dharmadasa alleges he has, Mascarenhas says: "I am shocked that my conversations with a man whom I consider my friend and business colleague were being recorded without my knowledge or consent. In any event, I deny having made any accusatory remarks during these conversations."

Thilanga Sumpathpa, the vice-president of the Sri Lakan board, told me last night: "The board president has not identified the official and it's a sad day for Sri Lankan cricket. I don't know why the board president did not raise the matter in the board and went straight to the minister." The allegations have surfaced at a time of in-fighting within the board and Dharmadsa, who was elected in April, would like to stand again. However, Sumpathpa wants to succeed him and told me: "Yes, I would like to be president, it is my turn."

The Sri Lankan allegations have echoes in India where the cricket board is split, with elections due in a week's time. This is the result of a falling-out of two former Indian comrade-in-arms Inderjit Bhindra, the former Indian board president, and Jagmohan Dalmiya, the former secretary who is now president of the ICC. One of the members of the Bhindra faction, who hopes to became secretary of the Indian board, has written to the Indian board president claiming that he had warned Dalmiya about associating with Mascarenhas and asked for the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Indian FBI, to investigate television deals the Indian board have done with Mascarenhas.

Dalmiya has described these allegations as an election gimmick and says any business deals with Mascarenhas were properly done. Mascarenhas told me: "I admire Dalmiya and he will do wonders for the world game but I have no business dealings with him."

Mascarenhas went on: "Just as I won the television rights for the 1996 World Cup by putting $10 million on the table so I won the rights to Sri Lanka by offering more money, $5.5 million for three years, than anybody else."

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)