A Sri Lankan court on Wednesday sentenced the owner of a domestic T20 league team to a suspended prison sentence in a match-fixing case, AFP reported, citing an official.Bangladeshi-born Tamim Rahman, a British citizen and owner of Dambulla Thunders, pleaded guilty to charges that he tried to influence players and arrange betting during the tournament.
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Following his guilty plea, Rahman was convicted and given a four-year prison sentence, which was suspended for five years, a court official said in an interview with AFP on condition of anonymity.The Colombo High Court also imposed a fine of 24 million Sri Lankan rupees ($80,000).The conviction came under a tough law introduced in 2019 to curb corruption in sports in Sri Lanka.Rahman was arrested in 2024 after a player involved reported the approach to the authorities. It was the first arrest of a Premier League official since the competition began six years ago.He was detained at Colombo airport while trying to board a flight to Dubai and spent several weeks in custody before being released on bail.A court official said an arrest warrant had been issued for team manager Mujeeb Ur Rehman, a Pakistani national who is also an accused in the case.
