Singapore gang rigged more than 100 soccer games
A Singaporean match-fixing gang rigged more than 100 football games worldwide in a scam worth millions of dollars, before it was busted and 14 gang members arrested on September 25, local media reported.
The syndicate, allegedly led by Singaporean businessman Dan Tan, was also involved in violent activity, but unlikely to have been responsible for a greater share of the 680 suspicious games reported by European investigators earlier in 2013.
The gang is now being held under a section of the criminal code usually employed against criminal gangs which allows for up to a year’s detention without trial. Experts say gangs in Singapore have cultivated links to foreign criminals to fix games in different countries for the purpose of illegal gambling.
After the arrests in Singapore, Interpol chief Ronald Noble said the gang was the world’s “largest and most aggressive match-fixing syndicate, with tentacles reaching every continent”. Noble, who had previously called for Dan Tan`s arrest, added that “the mastermind was someone many believed was untouchable”.
European police agency Europol reported in February that hundreds of games worldwide, including World Cup qualifiers and UEFA Champions League ties, had been targeted by fixers.
Singapore’s links to match-fixing have been in the spotlight since the arrest and jailing of Singapore’s Wilson Raj Perumal for match-fixing in Finland. Perumal, who claims to be a former associate of Tan, is now reportedly under police protection in Hungary. However, reports have named him as a suspect in a multi-million-dollar fixing ring revealed this month in Australia`s state league.
[caption id="attachment_16071" align="alignleft" width="240"] Singaporean Dan Tan, allegedly head of one match-fixing gang in the city state[/caption] A Singaporean match-fixing gang rigged more than 100 football games worldwide in a scam worth millions of dollars, before it was busted and 14 gang members arrested on September 25, local media reported. The syndicate, allegedly led by Singaporean businessman Dan Tan, was also involved in violent activity, but unlikely to have been responsible for a greater share of the 680 suspicious games reported by European investigators earlier in 2013. The gang is now being held under a section of the criminal code...
A Singaporean match-fixing gang rigged more than 100 football games worldwide in a scam worth millions of dollars, before it was busted and 14 gang members arrested on September 25, local media reported.
The syndicate, allegedly led by Singaporean businessman Dan Tan, was also involved in violent activity, but unlikely to have been responsible for a greater share of the 680 suspicious games reported by European investigators earlier in 2013.
The gang is now being held under a section of the criminal code usually employed against criminal gangs which allows for up to a year’s detention without trial. Experts say gangs in Singapore have cultivated links to foreign criminals to fix games in different countries for the purpose of illegal gambling.
After the arrests in Singapore, Interpol chief Ronald Noble said the gang was the world’s “largest and most aggressive match-fixing syndicate, with tentacles reaching every continent”. Noble, who had previously called for Dan Tan`s arrest, added that “the mastermind was someone many believed was untouchable”.
European police agency Europol reported in February that hundreds of games worldwide, including World Cup qualifiers and UEFA Champions League ties, had been targeted by fixers.
Singapore’s links to match-fixing have been in the spotlight since the arrest and jailing of Singapore’s Wilson Raj Perumal for match-fixing in Finland. Perumal, who claims to be a former associate of Tan, is now reportedly under police protection in Hungary. However, reports have named him as a suspect in a multi-million-dollar fixing ring revealed this month in Australia`s state league.
