Zimbabwe Cricket 'falsified accounts'

Zimbabwe Cricket 'falsified accounts'

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By Nkanyiso Moyo

ZIMBABWE Cricket has lost its bid to get US$11.5 million from their participation in the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup after it was ruled that their accounts had been "deliberately falsified".

Although Zimbabwe's Test status will be concluded on Thursday, it is unlikely they will be allowed to return in November.

Recommendations will be made for more four day matches and a place in the Inter-Continental Cup as the proposed July tour by West Indies A has been cancelled.

According to reports from meeting in London, which is being attended by ZC chairman Peter Chingoka and managing director Ozias Bvute, the union will now get US$2 million.

This is according to a report presented by ICC chief executive officer Malcolm Speed on Wednesday.

"My personal view, shared by the cricket committee and ICC senior management, is that the game in Zimbabwe and, more widely, the rest of the cricket world, will not be well served by Zimbabwe resuming Test cricket at this stage. It is respectfully suggested that we must find other ways to assist cricketers in Zimbabwe," the report says.

The main discrepancy concerns payments totalling $640,350 to "three unknown companies" which the board failed to inform the auditors about. There are als queries relating to a deal with a car company worth $972,000.

The board is believed to have imported the vehicles and then sold them to obtain extra local currency in direct contravention of the country's strict foreign-exchange regulations. The issue is further clouded because the board advised the forensic auditors that no cars had been imported or sold.

Speed's report, co-signed by Faisal Hasnain, the ICC's chief financial officer, concludes that: "This is a complete about-turn by ZC and there is uncertainty here regarding these pseudo agreements as referred to by ZC. The auditors and ICC have been misled about these transactions.

"It is clear that the accounts of ZC have been deliberately falsified to mask various illegal transactions from the auditors and the government of Zimbabwe. The accounts were incorrect and at no stage did ZC draw the attention of the users of these accounts to the unusual transactions. It may not be possible to rely on the authenticity of its balance sheet."

In conclusion, the report says that there may be serious breaches of the ICC's code of ethics and, as a result, the board has only been paid $2 million of the monies owed from the World Cup.
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