Football players, coaches among 19 arrested over match-fixing and illegal betting

Hong Kong’s anti-corruption agency and police have arrested 19 people, including serving footballers and coaches, in connection with illegal bookmaking, with one player accused of both fixing matches and handling illicit bets. Principal investigator Bill Ng Siu-kei of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said on Friday that the agency and police had broken up a local syndicate run by individuals within football. The investigation involved personnel from at least five clubs. “They have used people related to the local football sector to receive bets, and used footballers’ networks and corruption to fix local matches for profit,” Ng said. The ICAC and police launched the operation on Tuesday. Eight suspects were arrested for match-fixing, 10 for illegal betting, and one 24-year-old footballer for both offences. The syndicate placed illegal bets on local and overseas matches, including games in the ongoing Fifa World Cup, as well as professional and amateur fixtures. Ng said the investigation emerged while the ICAC was looking into another local match-fixing case. Those linked to match-fixing, aged between 22 and 49, were arrested for suspected breaches of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance. They allegedly fixed local matches for the benefit of an illegal betting syndicate. They comprise two coaches – one from a local First Division team and another from a Hong Kong Premier League under-22 side – six full-time players from three First Division teams and a former footballer who became a full-time “bookie” handling illegal bets. At least four matches over the past two seasons in the First Division, as well as one under-22 game last season, were affected, Ng said. “For example, a footballer who was also a bookie would receive hundreds of thousands of illegal bets. He would use some of these bets to bribe another player to fix a local First Division match,” Ng said. “This would cause legal bettors to lose, while those betting with the illegal betting syndicate could hedge their bets for a guaranteed profit.” Ng added that some of the arrested players and coaches had also moonlighted as bookies, handling illegal bets and recruiting other players to fix matches. Superintendent Chiew Tsi-huen of the organised crime and triad bureau said nine men and two women, aged between 24 and 58, were arrested on suspicion of bookmaking. Among those arrested were four players, three of whom had previously played for the same team. Five, including the players, were identified as core syndicate members, while six were responsible for placing bets. Police also raided the office of a football club in Mong Kok, arresting a 51-year-old woman and seizing HK$120,000 (US$15,305) in cash and suspected betting slips. Mobile phones and tablets were confiscated, with transaction records of illegal bets found on some devices. Chiew said syndicate members created large numbers of accounts on illegal betting sites, then handed them to players they knew to manage and handle funds. “They would even recruit people they’re familiar with in the football scene to make illegal bets,” Chiew said. He added that the syndicate was believed to have operated for about three years, with more than HK$6 million in bets placed. “No matter whether these illegal gambling sites were set up in Hong Kong or not, as long as the resident is inside the city, any participation in the operation of these gambling sites may violate the Gambling Ordinance,” Chiew warned. The superintendent added that betting with bookmakers would be illegal, no matter where the bet was received. Ng said the ICAC had issued a set of corruption prevention guidelines for the city’s national sports associations to bolster internal supervision and integrity management within these groups. A spokesman for the Hong Kong Football Association said it had adopted a “zero-tolerance” stance on match-fixing and illegal gambling and had maintained close contact with law enforcement agencies. “The Hong Kong Football Association will continue to maintain the principles of integrity and fairness and take appropriate measures to ensure all divisions’ matches run smoothly,” he said. Under Hong Kong law, illegal bookmaking carries a maximum penalty of a HK$5 million fine and seven years’ imprisonment.

Football players, coaches among 19 arrested over match-fixing and illegal betting

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}ICAC and police break up syndicate linked to five clubs, which placed more than HK$6m in illegal bets on local and overseas matches

ICAC and police break up syndicate linked to five clubs, which placed more than HK$6m in illegal bets on local and overseas matches