Top Pakistani cricketing stars have denied reports of falling victim to a major investment fraud, saying that they had invested in a company without facing any deception.
“We invested in a company. There has been no fraud,” the players told a private media outlet as reports, citing sources, claimed that several current and former cricketers had lost large sums of money after investing with a businessman, under the influence of a former national captain.
The players said that only two cheques had bounced so far but the company remained in contact with them and had promised to clear all pending payments by March.
They insisted that the matter remained under control, and confirmed that Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi had also contacted them after the reports surfaced.
The players said that they informed the PCB chief that there were no serious issues, and promised to update him if the situation changed.
They also confirmed that the company’s owner currently resided in Dubai.
A day earlier, reports claimed that said players had invested tens of millions of rupees after being promised high profits, with the cricketers initially receiving returns, but the businessman later disappearing.
It was alleged that the businessman now lived in the United States (US) and maintained close friendships with several Pakistani cricketers.
The reports added that none of the affected players had filed a formal complaint on any platform or approached the PCB, suggesting that the players wanted their original investment back but could no longer contact the businessman.
Some players were said to have partially recovered their investment after making efforts weeks earlier, while a well-known players’ agent was also reportedly among those who suffered financial losses.