The Curious Case Of Sanjeev Chawla

India wins a 19-year-long battle by getting the British government to clear the extradition of Sanjeev Chawla, a key accused in the 2000 match-fixing scandal.

- Neeru Bhatia

On February 27, British Home Secretary Sajid Javid signed the order to extradite Sanjeev Chawla to India, to face prosecution on charges of fixing cricket matches. Indian investigating agencies believe that Chawla is the kingpin of the infamous match-fixing scandal which marred the India-South Africa ODI series held in India in March 2000. Chawla, however, can appeal against the home secretary’s decision. Coming soon after Britain’s decision to endorse the extradition of fugitive tycoon Vijay Mallya, Chawla’s case is yet another diplomatic victory for India. Chawla, 50, is married with two sons. He owns an Indian restaurant in Shadwell, London. “He is a suave, sophisticated person. Back in 2000, he would be your regular upper middle class businessman,” is how the police describe Chawla. He still has family in Delhi. His family had a garment export business in Noida and fabricated sheets business in Nizamuddin. Chawla reportedly had stakes in two restaurants in the upscale Vasant Vihar market in South Delhi. “He was very fond of cricket and realised the potential of making money,” said one of the investigators.

The Delhi Police zeroed in on Chawla after an investigation into an extortion racket inadvertently led them to a series of phone calls he had with South African captain Hansie Cronje. He was in India during the controversial bilateral series and he used his business visa to fly back to the UK even before the series got over. After Chawla escaped, India revoked his passport. But he was granted British citizenship in 2003.