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for those who lost in soccer bet on Serie B and serie A ...

drifter

Alfrescian (InfP)
Generous Asset
HE HAD arrived at Malpensa airport in Milan at about 6am on Nov 4 and his suspicious behaviour caught the attention of the Italian police.

The Singaporean by the name of Mr Choo was carrying a 9kg luggage bag and had been flying for close to 24 hours.

He was then observed to be making several phone calls while inside the airport.

He later checked into the Sheraton Hotel at the airport where he had met an unidentified Italian and stayed there "for less than three hours".

At 12.15pm - without ever leaving the terminal in Milan - he boarded a flight bound for Singapore. This time, his luggage was 1kg lighter.

Investigating magistrate Guido Salvini said he was sure that Mr Choo had arrived in Italy only to deliver something on behalf of the syndicate - possibly "a sum of money hidden in a container (in his luggage) to fund illegal activities".

Between 2009 and 2010, Mr Choo made 26 flights to Milan from Singapore.

The episode added more spark to a massive investigation into Italian match-fixing in Serie A and B. And it appears that all roads lead to Singapore - MrSalvini said match-fixers were headed by a Singapore-based syndicate.

Arrest warrants issued

On Monday, Italian prosecutors issued arrest warrants for 17 people in connection with fixing matches played between 2009 and this year.

The charges involved conspiracy and fraud aimed at sports.

Those arrested under operation "Last Bet" included former Atalanta captain and Italy midfielder Cristiano Doni, ex-Inter Milan and Roma player Luigi Sartor and Carlo Gervasoni of Piacenza.

But on the wanted list were also Balkan syndicate members and three Singaporeans, all men in their 40s.

The New Paper learnt that Singapore police are working with their Italian counterparts in investigating match fixing in Serie A and B.

A police spokesman here confirmed this, but was unable to comment on ongoing investigations.

TNP obtained the names of the Singaporeans from Italian match-fixing investigators. One of them is Mr Choo.

We contacted Mr Choo, who proclaimed the allegations as "all nonsense" and insisted it was a case of mistaken identity.

He said: "I'm not interested in football. I'm a poor man and I have not been to Italy recently. A long time ago, I went there (Italy) to visit my sister-in-law."

According to the Italian arrest list, Mr Choo and a fellow Singaporean, Mr Pho, are believed to be working for a Singaporean financier named Dan Tan Seet Eng.

Italian prosecutors described Mr Tan as the head of an Asian match-fixing cartel who had been pulling the strings for at least the last four years.

He had been interviewed by TNP in August, but attempts to contact him on his mobile phone this time failed - his line had been disconnected.

In the August interview, he had insisted that he was not involved in match-fixing but said he had worked with kelong king Wilson Raj Perumal.

He had said then that he withdrew his name as the director of Exclusive Sports, a company started by Wilson Raj, after he suspected the latter was involved in illegal deals.

Wilson Raj is currently serving a two-year jail sentence in Finland for match-fixing.

TNP understands all the three named Singaporeans have not been arrested and are still here.

The round-up in Italy did not surprise Fifa security head Chris Eaton.

Fifa had already known the involvement of one of the Singaporeans and tipped off the Italian investigators about him.

He said that in another European investigation, Singapore is the main source of criminals manipulating footballers, officials and football administrators.

He added: "The Italian authorities have issued an arrest warrant for a man known as Tan Seet Eng - the same man we briefed Singaporean authorities about early this year."

TNP had highlighted the alleged Singapore connection in European football in an expose on Nov 16.

The story had noted that Singaporeans, working with organised crime groups in Eastern Europe, were active in European football and fixing matches in a country that had been former World Cup champions.

We had been requested not to mention the name of the country, as match-fixing investigators were preparing to make their arrests.


Match-fixing has gone on for 10 years

IN A press release on Monday, Italian police said that the transnational syndicate has its "epicentre" in Singapore.

The Italian players were alleged to have been "points of contact" for the Singaporean syndicate.

Together with others from Macedonia, Slovenia, Serbia and Croatia, the group allegedly fixed five matches in Serie B and three matches in Serie A.

They were also said to have used criminal intimidation and death threats against punters and football players who did not fulfil the group's demands.

One of those implicated had told Italian prosecutors that match-fixing attempts had gone on for as long as 10 years.

It is unclear how much the syndicate had made from fixing football matches.

The events that have unfolded in Italy may add credibility to Wilson Raj's testimony to Finnishpolice.

Could the Singaporeans named in the Italian documents be the same ones that Wilson Raj was connected to?

He had said in Finnish court documents that he belonged to a transnational syndicate with links to the Balkans.

The group reported to a Singaporean financier which German Stern magazine revealed as Dan Tan - the name Wilson Raj had given to Finnish investigators.

Meanwhile, Fifa told TNP that international government agencies and sporting bodies must continue to keep match-fixers on their toes by taking a focused approach to tackle the problem.

Exploiting

Mr Chris Eaton said: "It should now be clear that we are dealing with globally roaming organised crime taking advantage of international sports at many levels - from national to regional and finally international.

"That this manifestation now needs a collective sports, governments and police approach must be irrefutable."


CHINA: Top official accused of taking $558,000

ONCE, he was director of referees' committee in the Chinese Football Association (FA) and head of women's football.

Yesterday, Zhang Jianqiang and a football club boss went on trial for corruption.

The 59-year-old Zhang was charged with accepting 2.73 million yuan (S$558,000) from at least nine Chinese football clubs and regional soccer authorities between 1997 and 2009, Hong Kong daily South China Morning Post reported.

A series of trials is expected to feature more than 60 officials and businessmen.

Li Zhimin, chairman of the Shaanxi Guoli football club, is accused of receiving 2.5 million yuan to help at least two football clubs fix matches.

Prosecutors told the court that Zhang has been accused of receiving 900,000 yuan in bribes from Shaanxi Guoli between 1997 and 1998 in return for helping it gain promotion by arranging for a referee to favour the club.

He was also accused of receiving 680,000 yuan from a club in Liaoning in 1999 to help it win a match and stay in the top division.

Zhang did not deny the charges, including the accusation that he received 700,000 yuan to favour Shanghai Shenhua in a derby match against Shanghai International in late 2003 and dividing the money equally with referee Lu Jun after the match.

"No morals, no criterion, no check and supervision. It was the reality," he told CCTV in an interview before the trial.

If convicted, he could be jailed up to 20 years, China Daily reported.
 
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