INTERPOL Integrity in Sport Bi-Weekly Bulletin - 3-16 October 2016
In this edition of the bi-weekly bulletin, we give the floor to Mr. Dimitri Vlassis, Chief of the Corruption and Economic Crime Branch, Division for Treaty Affairs at the UNODC. Here, he discusses the role that UNODC plays in the fight against corruption in sports.
The upcoming weeks and months bring many events for the Integrity in Sports Unit to raise awareness on the severity of match-fixing, among other crimes in sports. Articles from this edition covers several match-fixing allegations from teams as young as 10 years old. In addition, there were some articles indicating good practices. In Kenya, the deputy president has announced a partnership with UNESCO to end doping. Russia's Vladimir Putin has also pledged to reform the anti-doping system.
THE FLOOR TO...
Mr Dimitri Vlassis, Chief, Corruption and Economic Crime Branch, Division for Treaty Affairs, UNODC and Secretary, Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption.
Recent scandals, both in terms of scale and frequency, have shown the enormity of the challenges which corruption and transnational organized crime pose for the world of sport. The international community has taken note and there is a mounting urgency to start dealing with these threats in a comprehensive manner, moving away from the ad-hoc, knee-jerk responses which have been to-date resorted to. Indeed, there is now growing momentum towards supporting efforts which seek to develop systematic and institutional initiatives designed to mitigate the risks that sport faces. (see paragraph 7 of resolution 6/6, “Follow-up to the Marrakech declaration on the prevention of corruption”: https://www.unodc.org/documents/treaties/UNCAC/COSP/session6/V1508646e.pdf). UNODC as the guardian of the United Nations Convention against Corruption and the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime has strong mandates and expertise in the areas of crime prevention and criminal justice, as well as our far-reaching convening powers, have significant relevance for the world of sport as it takes on the challenges of strengthening and protecting its integrity. These competencies have led us to approach the above by focusing on supporting prevention initiatives, enhancing investigative capacities of sports organizations and the criminal justice community, as well as to raise awareness on criminal justice issues affecting sport. In concrete terms, this multipronged approach has resulted in the launch this year of two publications. The first, entitled “Model Criminal Law Provisions for the Prosecution of Competition Manipulation” was developed in partnership with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). A preventive tool, it represents an effort to assist legislators and policy makers looking at ways to stop what is a clear and present danger for integrity in sport. (See: https://www.unodc.org/documents/corruption/Publications/UNODCIOC_Model_Criminal_Law_Provisions_for_the_Prosecution _of_Competition_Manipulation_Booklet.pdf). In terms of investigation capacities, UNODC in partnership with the International Centre for Sport Security, launched a second publication in August this year entitled “Resource Guide on Good Practices in the Investigation of Match-Fixing”. As the issue of investigating match-fixing is not widely known and the skills-base to investigate the problem is relatively limited, our hope is that the guide will be an important contribution to help to overcome this increasingly important problem.
We also see our role in raising awareness about corruption and organized crime in sport as being key to supporting realistic and measured responses to these threats and to move away from the ad-hoc, knee jerk reactions referred to above. We have seen that awareness about the negative roles played by corruption and organized crime in sports by investigators and other officials seems to be limited and the issue has not been viewed as a priority. To help address this, UNODC organized a one-day meeting of over 400 delegates from 176 States parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption to discuss and exchange practices on the topic of Integrity in Sport. The report of the meeting as well as presentations and submissions of Governments are openly available and can be accessed via the following link: https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/treaties/CAC/working-group4.html. At the inter-institutional level, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is proud of its long running and highly successful partnership with INTERPOL. While sport is a new area of cooperation in this relationship, much has been achieved in the last year and bodes well for future joint efforts. INTERPOL contributed its expertise during the development of the investigation tool for match-fixing and UNODC helped support a training for law enforcement officials organized by INTERPOL and the IOC in Rio, Brazil and are honored to have been asked to join the global INTERPOL’s Match-Fixing Task Force. As the international community, sports organizations and governments come to terms with their new responsibilities and mandates to strengthen and protect integrity in and of sport, it is essential that for us to have a positive impact, efforts be undertaken in a coordinated manner. It is our view that the best way of achieving this aim is for stakeholders who possess recognized legitimacy and relevant expertise to proactively work together. As evidenced by the UNODC-INTERPOL partnership, only then can credible tools be developed and effective technical assistance delivered.
INVESTIGATIONS
China
Five professional footballers and a suspected bookmaker have been arrested over alleged match fixing in Hong Kong’s football league, the city’s anti-corruption watchdog said Thursday. Local media reported the five footballers played for Hong Kong Pegasus, a strong team in contention for the title, which unexpectedly lost a match last week against a Chinese Super League team made up mostly of youth players. “The five arrested players might have conspired to accept bribes from other persons, including the suspected bookmaker, as rewards for their participation in rigging four matches,” the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said in a statement late Thursday. The watchdog said the alleged bribes amounted to over HK$90,000 ($11,602) and that the investigation was started after it received a complaint during the 2015-2016 season. The Hong Kong Football Association (HKFA), which regulates the former British colony’s professional league, has previously admitted the league could be vulnerable to rigging as players are poorly paid. “It is disappointing to note that further allegations of misconduct have come to light,” HKFA chief executive officer Mark Sutcliffe said in a statement, adding that they have recently introduced measures to minimise the threat of corruption. In 2014, nine people were arrested for alleged match-fixing in multiple football fixtures, with one Croatian player convicted and jailed for 12 months, the South China Morning Post reported. Match-fixing is proving a chronic and growing blight on international football and can involve cross-border syndicates.
Source: "Hong Kong arrests footballers, bookmaker over match fixing", 6 October 2016, World Soccer Talk https://worldsoccertalk.com/2016/10/06/hong-kong-arrests-footballers-bookmaker-over-match-fixing/
United Kingdom
Tennis investigators are examining whether a match at Wimbledon this year was fixed. The London-based Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) received an alert regarding one match played at the championships, it has announced. Its alerts come from regulators and betting organisations, who can report matches if they notice suspicious betting patterns. The TIU said it received 96 alerts from July to September, of which two came in grand slams, the first at Wimbledon and the second at the US Open. Wimbledon ran from 27 June to 10 July. A TIU statement said: “Historically, grand slams receive very few match alerts and in keeping with that record, only two were received during the period; one at Wimbledon, the other at the US Open. Both are the subject of routine, confidential investigation by the TIU.” The US Open match under investigation had already been disclosed, with the TIU having announced in September it was looking at the match between Vitalia Diatchenko and Timea Bacsinszky. It has not given details of the Wimbledon match that is under scrutiny. The TIU’s guidance states: “It is important to appreciate that an alert on its own is not evidence of match-fixing.” It states that unusual gambling patterns can be explained by factors other than fixing, such as incorrect odds setting, player fitness, playing conditions and well-informed betting.
Source: "Wimbledon 2016: investigators look into potential match-fixing", 6 October 2016, The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/oct/06/wimbledon-2016-investigators-potential-match-fixing
