Two men accused of stealing $200K from Calgary cricket league: police

Calgary Police Service headquarters is seen in this undated file image. (CTV News)

Two men accused of stealing approximately $200,000 from a Calgary cricket league have been charged with fraud and theft.

The Calgary & District Cricket League (C&DCL) reported several financial discrepancies to police following an internal review in 2017.

The investigation led police to believe the former treasurer and former president of the organization misappropriated approximately $200,000 from the league between January 2014 and December 2016.

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“The funds were misappropriated through cheque payments to construction businesses and contractors, which the former treasurer and former president, or their immediate family members, had connections to,” police said in a Wednesday news release.

Police say the payments were allegedly made to businesses for repairs and upgrades to the organization’s clubhouse and grounds, located at Riley Park, but the work was either “never completed or was done to a substandard quality using inferior products.”

“Additionally, the costs for the work were highly inflated,” police said.

Salman Khan Shahzad, 46, and Syed Wajahat Ali, 45, both from Milton, Ont., have been charged with one count each of fraud over $5,000 and theft over $5,000.

Both men are scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.

Khan, now the CEO of Cricket Canada, called the allegations “completely false” in a social media post.

“Let me make this clear: They have nothing to prove against me,” Khan said in the post on the Alberta Cricket Association Facebook page.

“I am not worried at all. I’m ready to fight just like I’ve been doing for the past eight years”

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact police by calling 403-266-1234. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Crime Stoppers.