ICC exposes Zimbabwe Cricket finance scandal

By Tichaona Sibanda
28 June 2007

The International Cricket Council has tabled a devastating report on the operations of Zimbabwe Cricket, which claims accounts in the last two years have been falsified to mask gross financial irregularities.

The report, distributed among delegates attending the ICC meeting in London, documents various problems besetting cricket in the country but raises its major concerns at the lack of proper financial accounting by the ZC. There are now calls for Zimbabwe Cricket President Peter Chingoka and Osias Bvute, the chief executive officer, to face the full wrath of the law.

Themba Mliswa, a former ally of Chingoka and one of the first stakeholders in the sport to call for his resignation following initial reports of financial irregularities, said he’s not shocked at the revelations but is surprised the ICC took this long to realise money was being stolen from Zimbabwe Cricket.

‘They (Chingoka and Bvute) should be prosecuted. Everyone else saw what was happening at ZC except the ICC. We told them about the misappropriation of funds since 2005 and they almost ignored it. Until the government steps in, they can run away but they will certainly not hide,’ Mliswa said.

ZC says it has not been able to pay its players because the ICC is withholding US$4,5 million it is entitled to for taking part in the recent World Cup. The cricket board has been paid US$2 million out of US$6,5 million it is owed. Of major concern to the ICC is how most of the money from its grants to ZC and from television rights has disappeared from the board’s coffers.

The credibility of ZC strongmen Peter Chingoka and Ozias Bvute was left in tatters following revelations in the report that they could have breached the ICC code of ethics after they deliberately falsified accounts to mask illegal transactions from the knowledge of auditors and the government. Mliswa believes the ICC should notify the sports commission of its findings, as nothing should be swept under the carpet.

The report, prepared by ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed and co-signed by Faisal Hasnain, the chief financial officer, summarises that the accounts were incorrect and so serious that ‘it may not be possible to rely on the authenticity of its balance sheet.’

A source told Newsreel the report cut to the heart of the cancer that has seen the country descend from a credible player on the international circuit to a shambles - where grassroots cricket is dying through neglect and a few woefully inexperienced and under-prepared students are forced to masquerade as an international side.

‘This is why the ICC begged the British government to go against its decision and issue Chingoka and Bvute with visas so that they could release the report in their presence, not only to embarrass them but to effectively put their administrative careers to an end,’ said the source.

BBC Sports editor Mihir Bose wrote in his blog that he has seen a copy of Speed’s confidential report delivered to the ICC board Thursday in which the main discrepancy concerns payments totalling US$640 350 to ‘three unknown companies’.

There are also queries relating to a deal with a car company worth US$972,000. According to the report, the ZC board is believed to have imported 60 vehicles and then sold them to obtain extra local currency in direct contravention of the country’s strict foreign-exchange regulations. This issue is further clouded because the board advised the auditors that no cars had been imported or sold.

A cricket analyst said the financial scandal also helps explain why although ZC received millions of dollars from the ICC, little of that got through to clubs and schools. Many of the cheques issued by the board bounced. It also explains why players have been repeatedly paid late, if at all. As of now they are still waiting for their World Cup monies.

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