Imran Khan has admitted to giving betting tips to his brother-in-law, Ben Goldsmith, during a test involving England and South Africa to help clear his loses and also to wipe off the debt incurred by Khan’s political party Tehrik-e-Insaf.
Pakistan’s former captain made the revelation in his new book ‘Pakistan: A Personal History.
“It took me a year to clear the debts the party had incurred during the elections. I cleared our last remaining debts in an unusual way; I was with my family in England, and my brother-in-law, Ben Goldsmith, kept asking me about what would happen in an England versus South Africa Test match. I discovered his interest came from his 'spread-betting' on the game. I decided to watch the match, and that every pound he made after recovering the £10,000 lost would go towards clearing my party's debt,” writes the former all-rounder.
Ben is the brother of Jemima Goldsmith, who married the Pakistani cricketer-politician in 1995. The two got divorced in 2004.
Recalling the incident Khan says, “I have never gambled in my life and have never understood its attraction, but now for the sake of clearing my party's debts I watched the Test match with Ben for the next two days, telling him what to do and when.
“Not only did he clear his debt, we also made enough money to clear my party's debt as well. At one point the bookie asked, ‘Mr Goldsmith, you don't happen to be sitting with your brother-in-law, do you?’”
