Ultimatum against Gupta stands, says Condon

Contrary to media reports that England's Alec Stewart and a host of others have been cleared of match-fixing allegations following the 'refusal' by Mukesh Gupta to provide sworn testimony, ICC's anticorruption unit chief Sir Paul Condon said in London on Friday that nothing has changed since he had given the July 1 ultimatum to the bookmaker.

In a brief statement, Sir Paul said, "On Monday I confirmed that the Unit has given Gupta until the 1st of July to agree to give evidence in respect of the non-Indian players named in the Indian CBI report. Contrary to suggestions carried by a number of media sources since then, nothing has changed in respect of that position or deadline."

A report in the 'Guardian' today claimed Gupta's refusal to co-operate will force Condon's corruption investigators to abandon worldwide inquiries, with Stewart likely to be officially proclaimed innocent by the England and Wales Cricket Board by the start of next month's Ashes series.

"Insufficient evidence is also set to end investigations into the West Indian Brian Lara, Australia's Mark Waugh, Sri Lankan duo Aravinda De Silva and Arjuna Ranatunga and former New Zealand captain Martin Crowe, and could mean that the Condon inquiry closes at a cost of 3.5 million pounds, without proving any allegations," the Guardian report said.