INTERPOL Integrity in Sport Bi-Weekly Bulletin - 6 November 2018 - 19 November 2018

Over the past two weeks, media covered various match-fixing cases in several sports, results of operations related to organized crime and betting, as well as new partnerships and best practices in the world of sports.

In tennis, a Guatemalan player has been banned from tennis for three years and fined $5,000 after admitting to match-fixing and failing to report a corrupt approach to the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU). In cricket, a former Sri Lanka all-rounder was suspended by the International Cricket Council (ICC) after charging him with match-fixing during the T10 League in the United Arab Emirates in 2017. Also related to cricket, India won the plea to extradite a suspected cricket bookie from the United Kingdom. In football, a Liverpool striker denied gambling on his sport after the Football Association found him guilty of misconduct for placing bets in January 2018.

Badminton Denmark indicated that the Badminton World Federation (BWF) should sanction Chinese players for a match at Fuzhou China Open which they believe was fixed.

BWF stated it would not comment on the issue prior to receiving a report from the tournament’s organizers.

Italy's anti-mafia police arrested 68 individuals accused of mafia association, money laundering, fraud and tax dodging in a large scale operation on organized crime groups making millions through online gambling. Some 800 policemen were mobilised to bring in suspects from families in the south of Italy from the Cosa Nostra in Sicily, 'Ndrangheta in Calabria and Sacra Corona Unita in Puglia. The total of assets seized, including real estates, companies and bank accounts, were worth around one billion euros.

Portuguese authorities working alongside Europol and Eurojust have arrested 30 individuals in Portugal for providing illegal gambling services. Operation Shadow Game is said to have spanned Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal and Switzerland and used servers and software for the development of games of chance, lotteries and sports betting. A total of €576,000 in cash was seized, alongside 3,000 computer devices used for illegal gambling, 22 firearms, 86 vehicles, and several bank accounts holding more than €6m.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) published new statistics showing that 33 offshore betting sites withdrew from Australian markets over 12 months. Reforms to the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, which came into effect in September 2017, expanded the ACMA’s powers to take action against prohibited and unlicensed offshore gambling sites. Maximum penalties of nearly $8 million per day can apply to corporations.

Also in terms of betting, Dutch gambling regulator the Kansspelautoriteit (KSA) has fined Curaao-based CyberRock Entertainment and its Cyprus-based subsidiary Honeydew Trading €350,000 for running an illegal gambling site. In India, police arrested more than 100 individuals for gambling and seized approximately $30,000 in cash and $250,000 in chips.

In terms of new partnerships, the Global Lottery Monitoring System (GLMS) and Europol signed a Memorandum of Understanding to share information on competition manipulation and increase their cooperation in the field of education and capacity-building. Additionally, the National Basketball Association (NBA) signed a multi-year partnership with Francaise des Jeux (FDJ), making it the NBA’s first-ever European gaming partner.

INTERPOL and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) conducted an Integrity in Sport Regional Workshop on 6 and 7 November 2018 in Frankfurt, Germany. The workshop <https://www.interpol.int/News-and-media/News/2018/N2018-131> brought together more than 70 representatives from German law enforcement, government, betting entities and sports organizations, as well as high-level delegations from Austria and Switzerland. The event was hosted in close cooperation with the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB). It was supported by the Council of Europe and Sportradar. The event allowed INTERPOL to strengthen its links with key members of its Match-Fixing Task Force and reinforce ties with investigators for the sharing of information, intelligence and best practices.

A Swiss prosecutor who led a four-year corruption investigation into the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and international soccer officials is out of the job. The agreement to terminate his employment contract came following joint discussions between Switzerland’s attorney general and the said prosecutor who was cleared of possible misconduct in the FIFA investigation.

FIFA’s President stated that he will request the term “corruption” is restored to the ethics code covering world soccer after criticism over its symbolic removal.

The Chairman of Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club (AS Monaco FC) has been charged by Monaco prosecutors in an investigation into suspected corruption.

The next bi-weekly bulletin will be circulated on Monday, 10 December 2018.

Wednesday, 21 November 2018