PRESIDENT of Cricket West Indies (CWI) Ricky Skerritt is set to face the Board’s Ethics committee, following a report accusing him of breaches to the Code-of-Ethics, among other claims.

On Thursday June 25, the Jamaica Gleaner confirmed in an article that the CWI boss was accused of breaches in the CWI Code of Ethics while apparently violating the Memorandum of Association (MOA).

According to reports, Justice Winston Anderson, Chairman of the CWI Ethics Committee, received a report in the form of a complaint from a CWI director last week. The complaint outlined several issues synonymous with the breaking of CWI’s Ethics code, stemming from the PKF consultants Business Situation Assessment and Financial Report.

The Gleaner report stated that it had acquired ‘Contents of the complaint report’ which highlighted that Skerritt violated Article 102 of MOA; allegedly “entering into a contractual engagement with PKF without the prior knowledge, approval, or authorisation of the CWI board of directors”.

The report according to the media house further highlighted the violation of Section 4, Subsection 4.1 in the Ethics Code which it states – ‘the President and the CEO refused and/or neglected to facilitate a reasonable request of a Director to receive information pertaining to the operations of CWI’.

Skerritt also came under fire for supposedly “leaking and/or failure to keep the report confidential as well as the engagement in conduct giving rise to a conflict of interest”.
Earlier this year CWI head came under public fire prior to the West Indies tour of England, which starts shortly, after a US$3 million loan for the CWI by the England and Wales Cricket Board in May. The loan was eventually the subject of an International Cricket Council (ICC) ethics inquiry.

Skerritt in an interview with ESPN CRICINFO on June 12 2020, said the loan was a “helping hand” given the CWI’s financial state, which had more of a downward spiral thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Skerritt said that CWI was transparent with ICC about the need for a short-term loan and ECB’s involvement. Following the hearing, the Ethics Officer settled on the notion that there was no “intentional violation” committed by either of the two boards and it was “clear beyond any doubt” that the CWI and ECB’s arrangement was “in accordance with their pressing and necessary business and cricket” reasons.

More so, was that the Jamaica Gleaner stated in their article that they made attempts to confirm whether speculations were true or not, by means of contacting CWI Corporate Secretary Alana Medford Singh, who referred the media house to CWI CEO Johnny Grave.
Grave, upon being contacted by the Jamaican newspaper, stated that he was not aware of such reports. However, Skerritt via text contacted the Gleaner and said, “There is nothing unethical about CWI conducting an internal assessment of its financial operations by competent and independent professionals”.

“The resulting findings and recommendations are being used to help improve the way CWI does business today and in the future. No petty politics, or mischief, can erase the reality of the much-needed change and improvement that is taking place within CWI’s financial operations as a result of the PKF review,” wrote Skerritt.

When a time is designated for any possible hearings, Skerritt will come before the CWI Ethics Committee comprising the Chairman Justice Anderson, Madam Justice Desiree Bernard, Archbishop Donald Reece, Justice Stanley John, and Nellen Rogers-Murdoch.