The ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit is casting an increasingly wide net around the 2023-24 Bim10 Tournament in Barbados, and its latest action has ensnared a name that Indian Premier League fans may recognise. West Indies fast-bowling allrounder Javon Searles — who played four matches for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2018 — has been provisionally suspended from all cricket after being charged with four breaches of the Cricket West Indies Anti-Corruption Code, according to an official ICC statement released on March 11, 2026.

Searles is one of three individuals suspended in this latest action. He is joined by Chitranjan Rathod, the owner of the Bim10’s Titans franchise, and Trevon Griffith, a team official who faces the most serious charge of the three — an additional breach under the ICC’s own Anti-Corruption Code related to international matches, and a charge of obstructing the ACU’s investigation.

What Is the Bim10 Tournament?

The Bim10 is a T10 franchise cricket tournament held in Barbados, run under the jurisdiction of Cricket West Indies. The tournament — like dozens of similar franchise leagues that have proliferated across the Caribbean and wider cricket world in recent years — operates as a domestic commercial competition with both local and overseas players. It falls under CWI’s governance and, by extension, under CWI’s Anti-Corruption Code.

The investigation into the 2023-24 edition of the Bim10 is not new. It was previously the subject of action as recently as January 28, 2026, when USA batter Aaron Jones — who became a household name in Indian cricket circles when he hammered Pakistan’s bowling in the 2024 T20 World Cup in New York, scoring 94 off 40 balls — was charged with five breaches of the CWI and ICC Anti-Corruption Codes and provisionally suspended. The Searles-Rathod-Griffith charges are an explicit escalation of that same investigation, described by the ICC as its “continuation.”

The Charges: What Each Individual Faces

All three individuals face charges under Articles 2.1.1, 2.1.4, and 2.4.4 of the CWI Code, with Searles and Griffith also charged under Article 2.4.2, and Griffith additionally charged under Article 2.4.7 of the ICC Code:

The charges break down as follows:

• Article 2.1.1 (CWI): Fixing, contriving to fix or otherwise influencing improperly the result, progress, conduct or any other aspect of Bim10 matches — or attempting to do so.

• Article 2.1.4 (CWI): Soliciting, instructing, encouraging or facilitating players or support personnel to commit offences under the CWI Code.

• Article 2.4.4 (CWI): Failing or refusing to cooperate with a reasonable investigation by the Designated Anti-Corruption Official.

• Article 2.4.2 (CWI): Failing to disclose details of any approaches or invitations to engage in corrupt conduct — a charge that specifically targets those who were approached but did not report it.

• Article 2.4.7 (ICC): Obstructing the ACU’s investigation by concealing or tampering with information relevant to the inquiry.

The obstruction charge against Griffith under the ICC Code — the most serious of the five articles cited — is particularly significant. It extends his legal exposure beyond the domestic Bim10 to the ICC’s own jurisdiction, meaning any final sanction could affect his participation in ICC-sanctioned events across the globe, not just West Indies cricket.

Who Is Javon Searles?

Born in Barbados on December 21, 1986, Javon Searles is a 39-year-old right-arm fast-medium bowling allrounder who built the bulk of his professional career in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) with Trinbago Knight Riders — the same franchise with which Sunil Narine established himself as one of the most versatile cricketers in the format. The two played together for TKR, and it was that shared franchise connection that partly drove KKR’s decision to pick up Searles in the 2018 IPL auction.

His IPL career at KKR was brief and unremarkable by numbers — four matches, two wickets at an economy of 12.71, eight runs with the bat, a highest score of six off a single ball hit for six. But his ability to bowl at pace, generate movement and contribute lower-order runs had given him a respectable CPL record across 42 matches: 29 wickets and consistent contributions for TKR across multiple seasons.

After KKR, he continued to play domestic cricket for Barbados Pride and the Leeward Islands Hurricanes, and remained involved in Barbados’s cricket ecosystem — including the Bim10, which sits at the centre of the current investigation.

A Widening Caribbean Corruption Storm

The Bim10 case is now one of the ICC’s most active anti-corruption investigations globally, with four individuals charged in under two months and the investigation explicitly described as ongoing. For context, the ICC’s Anti-Corruption Unit typically concludes between two and four investigations per year resulting in charges — the acceleration of action around the Bim10 suggests the ACU has developed substantial evidence across multiple lines of inquiry simultaneously.

All three individuals have 14 days from March 11 to respond to the charges. Until their cases are resolved — through a disciplinary tribunal, a voluntary admission, or a successful defence — they remain provisionally suspended from all cricket worldwide, at every level.

The ICC has confirmed it will make no further comment pending the outcome of proceedings. The investigation continues.