Three former SA cricketers in court for match-fixing

CAPE TOWN - Three former national cricket team players have been arrested on charges of corruption.

The Hawks have confirmed that Ethy Mbhalati (43), Thami Tsolekile (44), and Lonwabo Tsotsobe (40) were nabbed between between the 18 and 29 November.

Tsolekile and Tsotsobe were both charged with five counts of corruption under section 15 of Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities.

The three suspects appeared in the Pretoria Specialised Commerical Crimes Court on Friday for bail application.

The arrests come after a series of investigations by Hawak's Commercial Crime Unit investigators.

It's alleged the trio was involved in a match-fixing incident during the 2015 and 2016 Domestic T20 Ram Slam Challenge.
 
"The matter was first reported by Cricket South Africa's Anti-Corruption Officer after suspicions of match-fixing emerged involving former Protea player Mr Gulam Bodi. Investigations revealed that Mr Bodi approached several players to participate in fixing three T20 Ram Slam matches, working in collusion with bookmakers from India," said Hawks spokesperson, Katlego Mogale.

The case of Tsotsobe and Tsolekile was postponed to 26 February, while Mbhalati is expected back in court on 20 February next year.