Interpol to help BCCI in fighting cricket corruption

Tags: Ronald K Noble, Rajiv Shukla, Ronnie Flanagan, ICC, BCCI, ACSU, Interpol, India, ,

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Interpol to help BCCI in fighting cricket corruption

As of now, the BCCI budget is not decided © Getty Images

By CricketCountry Staff

New Delhi: Dec 16, 2011

Interpol has offered its services to the Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI) in India for battling corruption, rampant betting and to fight the influence of the underworld in the country.

The proposal was made during a meeting between Interpol secretary general Ronald K Noble and BCCI vice-president and Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Rajiv Shukla, according to sources.

The Times of India reported that the BCCI has accepted the proposal from Interpol.

"This is great news for cricket. With Interpol's help, tracing the cricket-related activities of the underworld will become easier for BCCI. The secretary general of Interpol met the IPL chairman and offered all help, which was accepted. The BCCI will be following in the footsteps of FIFA, which already has a landmark agreement in place with Interpol,” source said.

In May 2011, FIFA agreed to give $20 million to Interpol over a 10-year period to help tackle global betting and keep eye on match-fixing syndicates.

The report said that the Indian cricket board won’t be able to match this figure, but the police agency will receive a fee to keep an observant eye out for cricket from its Interpol Global Complex in Singapore, where the FIFA anti-corruption training wing is also based.

As of now, the BCCI budget is not decided.

"It is important to uphold the integrity of the game and with the spotlight on Asian betting syndicates, working with Interpol is crucial," said the source.

ICC ACSU chairman Ronnie Flanagan in September 2011 had informed that the body is in talks with the Interpol.

"What I am going to explore is a memorandum of understanding (with Interpol)," he said.