Corruption and fraud

Pakistan's Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif to be charged under 104-year-old corruption law

The three Pakistanis at the centre of the spot-fixing scandal are likely to be charged under a 104-year-old corruption law after a landmark ruling by the Attorney General.

The Telegraph can disclose there is a “strong appetite” to prosecute Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, according to legal and police sources.

It comes after another cricketer accused of similar claims has been charged under the rarely-used corruption law, and for cheating under the new Gambling Act.

The Attorney General rubber-stamped the decision to prosecute former Essex seamer Mervyn Westfield for deliberately bowling badly during a one-day game against Durham. Sources said that it paved the way for charges against the Pakistan cricketers.

Scotland Yard detectives interviewed them in September on suspicion of defrauding bookmakers after a newspaper sting alleged they received orders from businessman Mazhar Majeed to deliberately bowl no-balls in the Lord’s Test against England.

Police are now pursuing a charge of “accepting or obtaining corrupt payments” contrary to their “employer’s affairs or considerations” under the 1906 Corruption Act. It was originally framed for those working in public office and carries a maximum penalty of seven years in jail.

In the News of the World sting, Majeed, an agent, received £150,000 from an undercover reporter. It is understood that detectives have recovered just £4,000 of the money.

Two files of evidence have been passed by police to the Crown Prosecution Service, whose lawyers are under pressure to make a decision on any charges ahead of the February’s World Cup, which is being held in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

They will now be able to refer to the precedent set by Dominic Grieve, the Attorney General, in the Westfield case - making charges more likely.

Westfield was originally charged with conspiracy to defraud after an investigation into a match against Durham in September 2009.

His lawyers argued that the case was not legitimate because the accusations did not fit the law.

It was also difficult to establish a potential “victim” in the case because no legal bookmaker in Britain actually takes bets on the timing of specific no-balls or wides, At an Old Bailey hearing last month, David Durose, prosecuting, said that the matter had been referred to the Attorney General to approve “more suitable” charges.

The first charge is under the corruption law and the second count is cheating under the Gambling Act 2005.

The Telegraph has learnt that the chief legal adviser agreed to an indictment with two new charges.

A CPS spokesperson said: “The CPS has decided that Mervyn Westfield should be charged with corruptly accepting or obtaining a payment for himself and with assisting another to cheat at gambling. Both charges relate to bowling in a manner calculated and intended to allow the scoring of runs in a NatWest Pro40 cricket match.

“We will not proceed with the charge of conspiracy to defraud as we have decided that the two new charges better fit the facts of the case. There was no substantial legal argument on the previous charge and the decision to replace it with the new charges was taken by the CPS.”