Colombo, Feb 26 (IANS): Sanath Jayasuriya was on Tuesday banned from all cricket-related activities for two years after the former Sri Lanka skipper admitted to breaching Articles 2.4.6 and 2.4.7 of the International Cricket Council's (ICC) anti-corruption code.
The first breach was failure or refusal to cooperate with any investigation carried out by the ACU, including failure to provide accurately and completely any information and/or documentation requested by the ACU as part of such investigation.
The second was obstructing or delaying any investigation that may be carried out by the ACU, including concealing, tampering with or destroying any documentation or other information that may be relevant to that investigation and/or that may be evidence or may lead to the discovery of evidence of corrupt conduct under the Anti-Corruption Code.
"As a result of the admissions, he has accepted a sanction of a two-year period of ineligibility," an ICC statement read.
Commenting on the ban, Alex Marshall, ICC General Manager - ACU said: "This conviction under the code demonstrates the importance of participants in cricket cooperating with investigations. Compelling participants to cooperate under the code is a vital weapon in our efforts to rid our sport of corruptors. These rules are essential to maintain the integrity of our sport."
The conviction of Jayasuriya is the latest part of a much broader ICC ACU investigation into corruption in cricket in Sri Lanka.
The ACU recently announced an amnesty in relation to Sri Lankan cricket resulting in 11 players and other participants coming forward with new information.
"The amnesty has worked very well and has delivered significant new and important intelligence. This new information has assisted a number of our ongoing investigations and has resulted in some new investigations getting underway," Marshall said.
"I am very grateful to those who participated in the amnesty and as a result of the information shared we now have a much clearer picture of the situation in Sri Lanka and our investigations are continuing," he added.