In a dramatic development in the match-fixing scandal, Scotland Yard have arrested alleged bookmaker Sanjeev Chawla in North London.

Chawla, 33, who runs a clothing business in central London, was arrested by officers of the serious crime group at his home in Hendon. He was driven to a police station in central London and bailed to return later this month, media reports in London said on Sunday.

The arrest of Chawla, who was absconding after his passport was revoked by the Indian government, follows a letter issued by Delhi police.

The arrest marks a significant breakthrough in the match-fixing scandal which has rocked the game for long.

Chawla has been accused of offering money to two England players to underperform in the drawn third Test match against New Zealand at Old Trafford in August 1999.

The investigations by Scotland Yard have been based on the statements of former England all-rounder Chris Lewis who alleged that Chawla, through his Indian associate who is a sports promoter, had tried to bribe former England captain Alec Stewart and speedster Alan Mullaly to underperform in the said match.

An official of Scotland Yard told The Observer that Lewis claimed to have been told by Chawla's associate that 300,000 pounds in cash was available for the England team to perform in a certain way and "he (Lewis) should try to get Alec Stewart and Alan Mullaly on board as a starting point, and with a view to doing business in the future".

However, the official said Scotland Yard was convinced that the two players had done nothing wrong and were not under investigation. "We would stress that we are absolutely satisfied that both these players never took a bribe of any kind, and we would add that at no time have they been under investigation by us," he said.

The official said police also wanted to examine disgraced former South African captain Hansie Cronje who admitted to having received 6,000 pounds from Chawla for providing personal favours during the final Test against England at Centurion Park, Pretoria in January last year.

England won the match on the last day after Cronje forfeited South Africa's second innings.

"From a witness point of view, Hansie Cronje could be very helpful to our inquiries. There is lot more to uncover," he said.

Chawla was also named in the King Commission report which probed corruption in South African cricket and in India's CBI report on betting and match-fixing.

© PTI