Melbourne (The Hawk): Victoria Police have accused a Melbourne man of stealing and deceiving AUD 250,000 that was used to hire the best cricket players in the world.
Investigators from the Monash Crime Investigation Unit "charged the man for theft and deceit" of sizable sums from a Mulgrave company, according to an article on sen.com.au on Friday.
"The money is said to have been invested in the man's own firm, which procured and paid for 10 prominent international cricketers to compete in regional district tournaments in Melbourne's southeast. The 35-year-old suspect is accused with 18 charges of acquiring financial gain by fraud and one count of knowing dealing in the profits of crime "the report stated.
For the claimed fund theft he allegedly perpetrated between March 2021 and July 2022, the alleged criminal will appear before Melbourne Magistrates' Court on November 29 after receiving bail.
"A 35-year-old Doncaster man is accused of syphoning money from a Mulgrave company into his own company, which later paid for the hiring of prominent international cricket players. The Victorian Sub-District Cricket Association's Endeavour Hills has been identified in recent reports as the club connected to the arrested, despite the fact that the information was freely available "the report stated.
According to the article, Endeavour Hills made news during the 2022–23 season thanks to the signings of players like Chris Gayle, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Fidel Edwards, Shoaib Malik, Dimuth Karunaratne, and Dawid Malan, among others.
A Fox Sports correspondent stated on SEN The Captain's Run that "he was detained earlier in the week" and that "the specifics have emerged today (Friday) via Paul Amy and Code Sports."
He utilised the money to pay Chris Gayle, Fidel Edwards, Shoaib Malik, and a few Sri Lankan players to go to play for Endeavour Hills in these unique T20 matches, the correspondent continued.
Following the arrest, the Fox Sports correspondent questioned whether any of the games planned to take place at Dandenong Shepley Oval on Sunday will actually take place.
"Chris Gayle has arrived in Australia and is prepared to play, but he might not. He travelled by plane for 36 hours to Melbourne to participate in this match. It's a very interesting and important story "the correspondent added.
(Inputs from Agencies)