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#Post#: 1116--------------------------------------------------
Singapore arrests 14 people in crackdown on football match-fixin
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By: I-Luv-Rashi Date: September 20, 2013, 2:31 am
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Singapore arrests 14 people in crackdown on football
match-fixing
(CNN) -- In a crackdown on football match-fixing, Singaporean
authorities have arrested more than a dozen people they suspect
of being members of an organized crime syndicate.
The arrests come amid a global effort to uncover corruption in
the sport, which European police officials believe has reached
some of the world's most high-profile games including World Cup
qualifiers and UEFA Champions League matches.
Among the 14 people detained in Singapore during the 12-hour
operation on Tuesday is the crime group's suspected leader, the
Singapore Police Force and the city-state's Corrupt Practices
Investigation Bureau said in a joint statement late Wednesday.
The statement didn't disclose the names of the arrested
suspects, and authorities wouldn't say whether Tan Seet Eng, a
Singaporean man also known as Dan Tan, was among them.
Singapore police said earlier this year that Tan, considered to
be a key suspect in the global match-fixing scheme, was helping
them with their investigations.
Europol, the European Union's law enforcement agency, said in
February that it was investigating hundreds of games on
suspicion of match-fixing.
It pointed to "a suspected organized crime syndicate" in
Singapore as masterminding the alleged scams and working with
criminal networks in Europe.
Singaporean authorities said some of the people they detained
this week, including the suspected leader, are "the subject of
ongoing investigations in other jurisdictions for match fixing
activities."
Australian soccer hit by 'disturbing' match-fixing scandal
'An important step'
Interpol, the international police organization, said it had
helped to connect investigators in Singapore and Europe.
"Singaporean authorities have taken an important step in
cracking down on an international match-fixing syndicate by
arresting the main suspects in the case, including the suspected
mastermind," said Ronald K. Noble, Interpol's secretary general.
"No person should doubt Singapore's commitment to fighting
match-fixing."
The suspected leader and four others are being held for further
investigation, the Singaporean agencies said. The nine remaining
suspects will be released on bail, they added.
The people arrested -- 12 men and two women -- are all
Singaporean and are aged between 38 and 60, Singapore
authorities said.
"Singapore is committed to eradicate match-fixing as a
transnational crime and protect the integrity of the sport," the
police and the corruption investigation bureau said. "All cases
will be pursued vigorously with a view to bring perpetrators to
justice."
European police officials in February described their
investigation as "the biggest-ever investigation into suspected
match-fixing in Europe."
A total of 380 games in Europe -- including World Cup and
European Championship qualifiers -- were deemed suspicious, with
425 match and club officials and criminals involved from 15
different countries.
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