Cricket | Kenyan Betting Scandal
African Cricket Betting Scandal
Fox Sports have reported a Kenyan Cricket Betting Scandal involving former Kenyan Cricket Captain Maurice Omondi Odumbe and 6 other cricketers at an International Cricket Council (ICC) tribunal in Nairobi.
Fox Sports ::
THE estranged wife of former Kenya cricket captain Maurice Odumbe has implicated six other players in the corruption scandal involving her husband at an international Cricket Council (ICC) tribunal in Nairobi today.The BBC say
Katherine Maloney told the hearing that the group of six had received US$5000 ($7200) from Jagdish Sodha, the same Indian bookmaker who is alleged to have had links with Odumbe.
"Maurice said he had been approached by a middleman of a bookmaker to throw away a match. He had invited five or six members of the team because he could not do it alone," Maloney said in her testimony, recorded by the ICC Anti-Corruption and Security Unit investigators.
Odumbe's estranged wife who was summoned as a witness to the case by presiding judge Ahmed Ebrahim of Zimbabwe, said the players' relationship with Sodha had led to a breakdown in her two-year marraige with Odumbe.
The couple, who have two children, are currently involved in a bitter divorce settlement in Kenya.
The wife of Kenyan cricketer Maurice Odumbe has told an inquiry how she collected thousands of dollars from a bookmaker on his behalf.Related Odumbe reports :: Ex Kenyan Cricket Captain Knew Bookmaker
Katherine Maloney was giving evidence at a disciplinary inquiry in Nairobi, which could lead to Odumbe being banned from the game.
She said Odumbe once told her how he had asked five or six other players to help him throw a match.
The couple are currently in the middle of divorce proceedings.
Odumbe is accused of having "inappropriate contact with a known bookmaker, and receiving money, benefit, or reward from that bookmaker."
If found guilty, he could face a ban ranging from two years to life.
He was charged following an investigation by the International Cricket Council's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit.
Maloney told the hearing she had been "very unhappy" about Odumbe's relationship with bookmaker Jagdish Sodha, who she claims he described as a "gangster".
She described how, in 2002, she collected a large roll of money from him at a hotel in the Kenyan capital.
"He handed me a roll of American dollars. I was uncomfortable and expressed concern about all this money.
"He said the money was for a pharmaceutical business," Maloney said.
Defence strategy
Odumbe's lawyer Ishan Kapila later said he would present written submission to the inquiry panel on Friday and would not be calling Odumbe to testify.
On day two of the hearing, Anti-Corruption investigator Martin Hawkins told how Odumbe made four trips to meet Sodha in India before last year's World Cup.
"Odumbe said he had been introduced to Sodha as someone he could take part in a solar lighting business with when he retired from cricket.
"Sodha would also provide medicine for his mother, who had hypertension," said Hawkins.
Odumbe, 35, has played 61 one-day internationals for Kenya and captained the team to a famous World Cup victory over West Indies in 1996.
More on Odumbe :: Odumbe in fixing inquiry
Rediff.com Profile Of Former Kenyan Cricket Captain Maurice Omondi Odumbe
