STILLWATER, Okla. —

An NCAA infractions committee on Friday announced penalties against Oklahoma State men’s basketball team stemming from the corruption case involving the team’s former assistant basketball coach, Lamont Evans.

The committee ruled that Evans violated NCAA ethical conduct rules when he accepted between $18,150 and $22,000 in bribes from two financial advisors to influence student-athletes, according to a decision released by the Division I Committee on Infractions.

Evans is one of four coaches charged across the country in 2017, accused of accepting bribes from consultants and agents in exchange for access to the best players. Ten people have been charged across the country.

KOCO 5 reported in 2019 that a lawyer said Evans would plead guilty to a conspiracy bribery charge in New York Federal court.

Click here to read the full news release from NCAA regarding the case.

The committee also announced a list of penalties against the university’s men’s basketball program, including a one-year postseason ban for the team next season. Here’s a full list of penalties:

• Three years of probation.
• A 2020-21 postseason ban for the men’s basketball team.
• A $10,000 fine plus 1% of the men’s basketball program budget (self-imposed by the university).
• A reduction of men’s basketball scholarships by a total of three during the 2020-21 through 2022-23 academic years.
• A reduction of men’s basketball official visits to 25 during the 2018-19/2019-20 rolling two-year period and to 18 during the 2019-20/2020-21 rolling two-year period (self-imposed by the university).
• A prohibition of men’s basketball unofficial visits for two weeks during the fall of 2020 and two weeks during the fall of 2021 (self-imposed by the university). The university also must prohibit unofficial visits for three additional weeks during the fall of 2020, 2021 and/or 2022.
• A prohibition of men’s basketball telephone recruiting for a one-week period during the 2020-21 academic year (self-imposed by the university). The university also must prohibit telephone recruiting for six additional weeks during the probation period.
• A reduction in the number of men’s basketball recruiting person days by 12 during the 2019-20 academic year (self-imposed by the university). The university also must reduce the number of recruiting person days by five during the 2020-21 academic year.
• A 10-year show-cause order for the former associate head coach. During that period, any NCAA member school employing him must restrict him from any athletically related duties unless it shows cause why the restrictions should not apply.
• A prohibition of the men’s basketball staff from participating in off-campus evaluations for three consecutive days during the summer evaluation periods in 2020 (self-imposed by the university).

The Oklahoma State University Department of Athletics has since released a statement, saying it will file an immediate appeal of the NCAA penalties assessed to the men’s basketball program on Friday.

The deadline for filing the appeal is June 20. It will be heard by the Infractions Appeal Committee, the final step in the NCAA infractions process, according to OSU:

“The University is stunned by the severity of the penalties and strongly disagrees with them. The penalties do not align with the facts and are unfair and unjust.

“The NCAA agreed with OSU that Lamont Evans acted alone and for his own personal gain. Evans was terminated by OSU on Sept. 28, 2017, within 72 hours of learning of allegations against him.

“The NCAA also agreed that OSU did not benefit in recruiting, commit a recruiting violation, did not play an ineligible player, and did not display a lack of institutional control. As the report documents, OSU cooperated throughout the process, which lasted two years.

“The NCAA appears to have made an arbitrary decision in the sanctions applied to the institution for the egregious actions committed by a former coach that did not result in any benefit for the University.”

Issued on: 11/05/2020 – 15:23

Kinshasa (AFP)

A powerful top aide to DR Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi went on trial for corruption on Monday in a case without precedent in the vast African country.

Tshisekedi’s chief of staff Vital Kamerhe, who has been at the very heart of political life in DR Congo for two decades, is accused of embezzling more than $50 million.

A grey-bearded Kamerhe, 61, appeared in a prison jumpsuit before a court set up within Kinshasa’s central prison compound, where he has been in custody since April 8.

Two other defendants in the case, a Lebanese businessman and another presidential official, also appeared during the first hearing which was broadcast by the state channel RTNC.

Kamerhe’s supporters charge that the case is politically motivated, a possible attempt to prevent him from running in the next presidential election in three years’ time.

“Never in Congo’s political history over the past two decades has such an important player on the political scene been put behind bars,” New York University’s Congo Study Group (CSG) said in an analysis.

The case against Kamerhe is part of a broad investigation that is supposed to mark the “renewal” of the Congolese justice system in the fight against corruption among the elite since the country’s independence in 1960.

Kamerhe, once a pillar of the regime of former president Joseph Kabila, is the leader of the influential Union for the Congolese Nation and previously served as parliamentary speaker.

He emerged as Tshisekedi’s main ally in his quest for power after Kamerhe himself bowed out of the presidential race in December 2018, the first peaceful power transfer in the history of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

– 100-day action plan –

Kamerhe, said to have been in charge of authorising public expenditure, is accused of embezzling public funds intended to finance major works under a “100-day” emergency action plan launched by Tshisekedi after he took office in January last year.

The defendants are accused of embezzling almost $49 million from funds for building 4,500 pre-fabricated homes for poor people and allegedly siphoned off another $2 million from a programme to build housing for police and the military in Kinshasa.

Kamerhe, who has not stood down or been sacked since being charged, has denied the allegations against him, saying all public sector contracts were “inherited” from previous governments.

Although Kamerhe’s arrest is seen as a strong signal in the anti-graft fight, some remain sceptical, seeing the case as a possible settling of scores within the governing coalition.

MPs from Kamerhe’s party have denounced the “arbitrary arrest” and “humiliation” suffered by their leader while on social media, his supporters say it is a bid to remove him from the 2023 presidential race despite a deal with Tshisekedi.

Kamerhe’s lawyers said on Monday that they had filed an application for temporary release, after another request was denied last month.

The trial was initially expected to be held in Kinshasa’s high court but was later moved to the prison complex where Kamerhe has been held for more than a month.

Defendants, judges and lawyers wore masks during the hearing, as the official toll of coronavirus cases in the country passed the 1,000-mark, including 41 deaths, with a major outbreak at a prison in the capital.

The session was briefly suspended after Kamerhe’s co-defendant, 79-year-old Lebanese businessman Samih Jammal, appeared to be fainting in his wheelchair as he breathlessly confirmed his identity to the court.

The biggest country in sub-Saharan Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo has an abundance of natural resources, but most of its 80 million people live below the threshold of poverty.

The country struggles with a long history of conflict, poor governance and graft.

Kamerhe served as president of the National Assembly from 2006 to 2009 but moved to the opposition ranks in 2011, running in elections that year.

He initially stood in the 2018 presidential poll but bowed out to team up with Tshisekedi.

The two leaders signed a political agreement in Nairobi in November 2018 that gave birth to a joint platform, Heading for Change, and which allowed Kamerhe to run for president in 2023.

Kamerhe’s UNC has 16 seats in parliament and several ministers in Tshisekedi’s huge coalition government.

© 2020 AFP

Shafaq has appeared in 24 ODIs and 46 Twenty20Is for Afghanistan and notched up 430 and 494 runs, respectively.

Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batsman Shafiqullah Shafaq has been banned from all forms of cricket fot a period of six years after he was found to have breached four articles of Afghanistan Cricket Board’s (ACB) Anti-Corruption Code.

The 30-year-old has been charged for violating the ACB’s anti-corruption code during the maiden edition of the Afghanistan Premier League (APL) in 2018 and Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) in 2019.

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The four charges accepted by Shafaq are as follows:

Article 2.1.1 – Fixing or contriving in any way or otherwise influencing improperly, or being a party to any agreement or effort to fix or contrive in any way or otherwise influence improperly, the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of any Domestic Match,  including (without limitation) by deliberately underperforming therein.”

Article 2.1.3 – Seeking, accepting, offering or agreeing to accept any bribe or other Reward to (a) fix or to contrive in any way or otherwise to influence improperly the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of any Domestic Match …”

Article 2.1.4 – Attempting to solicit, induce, entice, persuade, encourage or intentionally facilitate a Participant to breach Article 2.1.”

Article 2.4.4 – Failing to disclose to the Designated Anti-Corruption Official (without unnecessary delay) full details of any approaches or invitations received by a Participant to engage in Corrupt Conduct under ACB Anti-Corruption Code.”

Shafaq has admitted the charges levied against him and agreed to the suspension handed by the ACB and, therefore, there will be no need for any formal hearing.

Reflecting on the same, ACB’s Senior Anti-Corruption manager, Sayed Anwar Shah Quraishi said that Shafaq has committed a very serious offence by engaging in corruption activities in a high-profile domestic game.

 “This is a very serious offence where a senior national player is involved in the corruption of a high-profile domestic game in APL T20 2018. The player had also attempted but failed to get one of his teammates to engage in corruption in another high-profile game during the BPL 2019.It is an alert for all those players who think their illegal activities concerning the game of cricket will not be disclosed to the ACB’s ACU. Our coverage is vaster than what is perceived,” ACB official website quoted Quraishi as saying.

Quraishi further revealed that the ban could have been even longer, had Shafaq did not admit to the breach and made full cooperation with ACU throughout the investigation. He also revealed that the wicketkeeper-bastman is absolutely ready to contribute to ACB ACU’s future integrity education programs in order to help young cricketers to learn from his mistakes.

Shafaq has appeared in 24 ODIs and 46 Twenty20Is for Afghanistan and notched up 430 and 494 runs, respectively.

 

 

 

Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batsman Shafiqullah Shafaq has been banned from all forms of cricket fot a period of six years after he was found to have breached four articles of Afghanistan Cricket Board’s (ACB) Anti-Corruption Code.

The 30-year-old has been charged for violating the ACB’s anti-corruption code during the maiden edition of the Afghanistan Premier League (APL) in 2018 and Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) in 2019.

The four charges accepted by Shafaq are as follows:

Article 2.1.1 – Fixing or contriving in any way or otherwise influencing improperly, or being a party to any agreement or effort to fix or contrive in any way or otherwise influence improperly, the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of any Domestic Match,  including (without limitation) by deliberately underperforming therein.”

Article 2.1.3 – Seeking, accepting, offering or agreeing to accept any bribe or other Reward to (a) fix or to contrive in any way or otherwise to influence improperly the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of any Domestic Match …”

Article 2.1.4 – Attempting to solicit, induce, entice, persuade, encourage or intentionally facilitate a Participant to breach Article 2.1.”

Article 2.4.4 – Failing to disclose to the Designated Anti-Corruption Official (without unnecessary delay) full details of any approaches or invitations received by a Participant to engage in Corrupt Conduct under ACB Anti-Corruption Code.”

Shafaq has admitted the charges levied against him and agreed to the suspension handed by the ACB and, therefore, there will be no need for any formal hearing.

Reflecting on the same, ACB’s Senior Anti-Corruption manager, Sayed Anwar Shah Quraishi said that Shafaq has committed a very serious offence by engaging in corruption activities in a high-profile domestic game.

 “This is a very serious offence where a senior national player is involved in the corruption of a high-profile domestic game in APL T20 2018. The player had also attempted but failed to get one of his teammates to engage in corruption in another high-profile game during the BPL 2019.It is an alert for all those players who think their illegal activities concerning the game of cricket will not be disclosed to the ACB’s ACU. Our coverage is vaster than what is perceived,” ACB official website quoted Quraishi as saying.

Quraishi further revealed that the ban could have been even longer, had Shafaq did not admit to the breach and made full cooperation with ACU throughout the investigation. He also revealed that the wicketkeeper-bastman is absolutely ready to contribute to ACB ACU’s future integrity education programs in order to help young cricketers to learn from his mistakes.

Shafaq has appeared in 24 ODIs and 46 Twenty20Is for Afghanistan and notched up 430 and 494 runs, respectively.

 

 

 

Victoria Police has suspended two more police officers over the leak of unauthorised photos of former AFL player and coach Dean Laidley in custody inside a police station.

It follows the suspension of two other officers earlier this week over an “appalling” privacy breach after unauthorised images were shared of the former North Melbourne player and coach in custody inside St Kilda police station.

The photos were taken when Laidley was in police custody last weekend on allegations of stalking, as well as other charges.

The 53-year-old from Moonee Ponds was arrested on Saturday night after an incident outside a St Kilda home about 9:00pm.

In a statement, police said Professional Standards Command had “suspended two further Victoria Police employees in relation to photos circulating on social media of a person who was in custody at a police station in Victoria”.

The two male senior constables are from the southern metropolitan region and are expected to be charged with a breach under section 227 of the Victoria Police Act, which is unauthorised disclosure of information.

There have now been four police officers suspended as part of the investigation.

Police said as the investigation was ongoing, there would be no further comment.

Independent oversight of police probe

Meanwhile, Victoria’s corruption watchdog said it would oversee the Victoria Police investigation into the “serious privacy breach”.

Victoria’s independent police oversight agency, IBAC, said the scope of Victoria Police’s investigation would address issues the watchdog considered necessary to restore public confidence and prevent future breaches.

The police investigation will examine the number of officers involved in taking the initial photographs and the conduct of any other officers who were present and aware of the behaviour.

It will also probe how other officers received the photographs and responded to them, including whether they further distributed the images.

IBAC Commissioner Robert Redlich said the community was right to expect that police always conducted themselves in accordance with the law.

“This must include ensuring that people’s privacy is appropriately protected at all times,” Commissioner Redlich said.

“Importantly, Victoria Police has confirmed they are looking at any underlying cultural issues, and how they can build on their work with the LGBTIQ community and ensure their officers have proper regard to human rights.

“Addressing any such cultural issues and improving police training will be fundamental to ensuring this type of behaviour is simply not tolerated and doesn’t happen again.”

Top cop’s ‘sense of shame’

Earlier on Friday, Victoria’s Chief Police Commissioner, Graham Ashton, said he felt ashamed of the force when he learnt the photo of Mr Laidley had been leaked in an act of “immaturity and gross stupidity”.

“I was firstly very angry when I first heard about it, because [it was] on a day when we should have been paying our respects to a fallen police hero, Josh Prestney,” the Chief Commissioner said referring to the funeral of one of four police officers killed in a truck crash on Melbourne’s Eastern Freeway last month.

Mr Ashton said while Constable Prestney’s parents did not raise the incident with him at the funeral on Monday, “there was a sense of shame that I felt that someone in the force had done that on a day that we should have been honouring a police hero”.

He said it was clear “a lot of people” in the force had received the messages, and detectives were in the process of determining how widely it was shared.

Tennis player Youssef Hossam, who was currently ranked 820 on the ATP singles table, has been convicted for 21 breaches of anti-corruption rules resulting in a lifetime ban from the sport.

The 21-year old has been charged as a result of a Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) investigation which spanned a four-year period between 2015 and 2019. During that time Hossam conspired with other parties in order to carry out a campaign of betting-related corruption at professional tennis’ lower levels. 

In total, 21 breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program were identified during the investigation, including eight cases of match-fixing, six cases of facilitating gambling, three failures to report corruption approaches, two cases of soliciting other players not to use best efforts and two failures to cooperate with a TIU investigation.

Hossam had been provisionally suspended from all professional tennis since May 2019 due to concerns about his alleged involvement in corruption. However following the players hearing in March this year, Jane Mulcahy QC imposed the lifetime sanction.

Along with the competitive ban, Hossam will also no longer be recognised by the governing bodies of the sport as the TIU looks to clamp down on corruption in the sport.

The Egyptian’s elderly brother Karim Hossam, who had a career high ATP singles ranking of 337 in December 2013, was also banned from tennis for life in 2018 for multiple match-fixing offences.

The case follows Brazilian tennis player Joao Olavo Soares de Souza’s lifetime ban and $200,000 fine by the TIU earlier this year following ‘numerous breaches of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program (TACP)’.

The 31-year old was ranked 742 in ATP singles before his ban, with a career-high of 69 reached in April 2015.

The first match-fixing case in Australian esports has led to some serious consequences. Five men between 20 and 27 years old are facing charges that carry maximum penalties of up to 10 years in jail. The charges stem from allegations of winning $30,000 by betting on fixed Counter-Strike: Global Offensive matches last March.

In August, the Victorian police issued a statement on the matter, noting that a betting agency had tipped off officers about players who were “arranging to throw” five matches during the Mountain Dew League in order to benefit from bets they’d placed. 

A 20-year-old from Mill Park in Melbourne has been charged with two counts of engaging in conduct that corrupts or would corrupt a betting outcome, along with two counts of using corrupt conduct information for betting purposes. He was also charged with the possession of cannabis. Two other 20-year-old players from the same area, along with a 20-year-old from South Morang, were charged with three counts of using corrupt conduct information for betting purposes. The fifth man is a 27-year-old from Sale, who was charged with a whopping five counts of using corrupt conduct information for betting purposes. 

All five men will face court in Melbourne and Sale in September. 

A sixth man was arrested in August 2019, but it’s unclear why they were not charged with anything at this time. No names were released. 

CSGO match fixing is a serious crime

According to the original reporting, all five of the players involved in the match fixing had gone to the same high school and university. They were all from “normal suburban Melbourne families” and had no prior wrongdoing on their records. 

“We’ve got young men, typically 19 or 20-year-olds, who have no history with police,” assistant commisioner Neil Paterson stated. “They’re getting involved in [corruption] offenses at quite a young age that have serious consequences for them.” 

For Paterson, the number of young men involved in esports gambling, and gambling in general, has been a problem. He noted that he feels nothing is really being done to crack down on this spreading problem with young men in the area.