London: UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid has ordered the extradition of alleged bookie Sanjeev Chawla to India to face charges of cricket match-fixing dating back to 2000.
The UK Home Office confirmed Saturday that the minister had given the go-ahead for Chawla to be sent to India after Westminster Magistrates’ Court had over-ruled its previous ruling earlier this year to find no bars to his extradition.
Chawla, a key accused in the cricket match-fixing scandal involving former South African captain Hansie Cronje (pictured) in 2000, has 14 days from the date of the order to file an application to seek leave to appeal against the order.
“On 27 February 2019, the Secretary of State (Javid), having carefully considered all relevant matters, signed the order for Sanjeev Chawla’s extradition to India,” said a Home Office spokesperson.
“Sanjeev Chawla is accused in India of match fixing in international cricket,” the spokesperson said.
This is the second extradition order for India to be signed by Javid, the senior-most Pakistani-origin minister in the UK Cabinet, after he ordered the extradition of embattled liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya last month to face fraud and money laundering charges amounting to an alleged Rs 9,000 crores in India.
PTI
