Ex-West Indies player Marlon Samuels hit with six-year ban from all cricket for corruption

Former West Indies all-rounder Marlon Samuels has been banned from all cricket for six years for breaching the International Cricket Council’s anti-corruption code.

Samuels was charged by the ICC in 2021 in relation to the 2019 Abu Dhabi T10 tournament then found guilty of four corruption offences in August 2023 following an independent tribunal hearing.

He was found guilty of failing to disclose “the receipt of any gift, payment, hospitality or other benefit” that could bring him into disrepute, as well as the receipt of hospitality worth $750 or more.

The ICC also said Samuels, who has not played for West Indies since 2018, failed to co-operate with an anti-corruption official and concealed information that may have been relevant to the investigation. The ban takes effect from November 11, 2023.

“Samuels played international cricket for close to two decades, during which he participated in numerous anti-corruption sessions and knew exactly what his obligations were under the Anti-Corruption Codes,” Alex Marshall, the ICC’s integrity unit manager, said in a statement on Thursday.

“Though he is retired now, Mr. Samuels was a participant when the offences were committed. The ban of six years will act as a strong deterrent to any participant who intends to break the rules.”

This is not the first time Samuels has found himself punished by cricket's main governing body.

In 2008, Samuels received a two-year ban from the ICC after being caught on tape passing on match-related information to an Indian bookmaker during West Indies’ ODI series in India the previous year.

He was found guilty of “receiving money, or benefit or other reward that could bring him or the game of cricket into disrepute”.

Samuels still made a strong comeback in 2011 and continued playing Test cricket until 2016, and limited-overs internationals for a further two years.

Samuels made his Test and ODI debuts for West Indies in 2000 at the age of 19.

He played 71 Tests, 207 ODIs and 67 T20 internationals and scored more than 11,000 runs in international cricket. His highlight was a 56-ball 78 in the World T20 final against Sri Lanka in 2012 to help the West Indies win the title.

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

The Outsider

Stephen King, Penguin

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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