Too Soon to Link Murder to Corruption – Speed

Chief Executive Officer of the ICC Cricket World Cup, Malcolm Speed has said that it is too soon to link the murder of the Pakistani Cricket Coach, Bob Woolmer, to corruption.
“We cannot leap to that conclusion and I am sure Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mark Shields, would support me on this. We do not know whether this is corruption at this stage,” he said, responding to speculations raised at a press conference on March 22 at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, that Mr. Woolmer’s death was linked to match-fixing.
However, Mr. Speed admitted that while the sport was previously shrouded with corruption, he said that the problem was successfully dealt with in 2003, with some persons associated with the sport banned for life.
“Since then, we have put in place the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit led by Lord Condon, a former head of Scotland Yard and we believe that we have made great progress. We believe that over the last few years we have had corruption under control in an environment where there is huge betting on cricket,” he explained.
As such, he said members of the ICC Anti-corruption and Security Unit were in the West Indies in full force.
“They are following the procedures that they follow in relation to every international cricket match and they will continue to do so. They will continue to co-operate with the investigation here and provide whatever assistance they can,” Mr. Speed said.
The ICC Chief also disclosed that he was in close contact with Lord Condon. “I have spoken to him today [March 22], and he is fully supportive and is standing by to assist with the investigation if that is required,” he noted.
The Pakistani Coach was found in his hotel room at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel on March 18. A pathologist report stated that Mr. Woolmer’s death was due to asphyxia as a result of manual strangulation. In light of these circumstances, the matter of his death is being treated by the Jamaican police as a case of murder.