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Cronje in deeper Former SA captain admits taking two more payouts
Posted: Wednesday June 21, 2000 03:07 PM
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) -- Disgraced former South African cricket captain Hansie Cronje, who previously acknowledged taking four illicit payments totaling $100,000, admitted Wednesday he had received two more payouts that appeared linked to gamblers. Testifying before a commission probing corruption in South African cricket, Cronje said 139,158 rand (US $20,000) was deposited into his bank account in January 1997, and he was unsure of its origin. However, he speculated it could have come from Mukesh Gupta, an Indian gambler to whom Cronje provided match information during an Indian tour of South Africa in late December 1996 and mid-January 1997. Cronje's lawyers said they still were trying to ascertain the money's origin. Cronje previously admitted to taking two payments from Gupta totaling $80,000 for match information. Cronje also said he had failed to disclose a 3,000 rand (US $400) gift he received from bookmaker Marlon Aronstam for correctly predicting a score during a match between South Africa and Zimbabwe. This was in addition to 50,000 rand (US $7,100) and a leather jacket he previously admitted to receiving from Aronstam after he made an early declaration in a test match against England, which the bookmaker had suggested he do. "It was a complete oversight on my side," Cronje said of the payments he failed to mention last week. Earlier, Cronje testified that he had received the equivalent of $1.3 million in legitimate endorsements and sponsorships since 1995. He also earned a handsome salary and performance bonuses since becoming a professional cricketer in 1992, and boosted his wealth through astute property and stock market investments. "At no stage did I have any worries about the cost of living. I was very blessed at the time I was playing for South Africa, and I earned substantial amounts of money," he said. The details of Cronje's personal fortune raised questions as to why the golden boy of South African cricket ruined his career and reputation by taking money that amounted to only a small fraction of his legitimate earnings. Cronje said he had wished he had acted differently and was ashamed of what he had done. However, he reiterated he had never thrown a match. "Yes, I spoke to bookmakers. Yes, I spoke to players. Yes, I do like money, but every time I walked onto the field I gave my all for South Africa," he said. Cronje's psychiatrist, Dr. Ian Lewis, earlier testified that Cronje was suffering from clinical depression. Cronje held up well under cross-examination, although at one point appeared close to tears when he described the shame he now felt. In his opening statement to the commission last Thursday, Cronje said former Indian captain Mohammed Azharuddin had introduced him to Gupta during a 1996 tour of India. He also said former Pakistani captain Salim Malik appeared to be aware of a conversation he had had with another gambler about possibly fixing a match in 1995. However, during cross-examination on Wednesday, Cronje said he had "no reason to believe that other players are involved" in match-fixing. Azharuddin and Malik have vehemently denied allegations that they took bribes or were involved in match-fixing. However, Malik was found guilty of match-fixing in Pakistan by a one-man judicial inquiry and was subsequently banned from the sport. The government appointed the commission after Cronje confessed to taking $8,200 from a bookmaker, a bombshell that has sparked one of the country's worst sporting scandals. The commission must present interim findings by the end of the month.
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