Owner of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) team Dambulla Thunders, Tamim Rahman, who is a British national of Bangladeshi descent was arrested on allegations of match-fixing on Wednesday (May 22). The Dambulla franchise is being run by Bangladeshi entrepreneurs (Imperial Sports Group).

An official from the Sports Ministry's Special Investigation Unit for the Prevention of Offenses Related to Sports verified the arrest.

Before he boarded a flight to Dubai, he was stopped and taken into custody at the Colombo international airport by the sports ministry's special investigative unit, according to police. According to AFP, police and immigration officials said that he was taken into custody on suspicion of match-fixing, as per a court order. Tamim was placed under arrest pending additional inquiries and held until May 31. Two articles of the Sports Act pertaining to match fixing and attempting to organise betting were the subjects of the investigation into him.

On Tuesday, the auction for the fifth season of the LPL took place, with 500 local and international players participating.  Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman will play as the icon cricketer of Dambulla Thunders in this year.  This year's LPL is scheduled to start on July 1 and will continue until July 21.