An FBI investigation is underway into a new match-fixing scandal that has taken place across as many as seven different countries, according to German media sources.
Public-service broadcaster ZDF has obtained information about an illegal network linked to the Armenian betting network. Bearing a resemblance to a separate match-fixing investigation linked to a criminal gang in the country back in January. It is reported that 135 professional players have been caught up in the latest incident, but none of those have been named. However, the FBI has already been in contact with the Belgian authorities.
“This is about the Armenian betting mafia network that has spread across seven countries in Europe and has been highly intelligent and cheated on a large scale.” Belgium’s Attorney General, Eric Bisschop, told ZDF.
“Not only the dimension is unique, but also the system of betting manipulators. Hundreds of small amounts were sometimes bet on manipulated games, in close consultation with the tennis professionals on the court. In total, every manipulation would result in tens of thousands of euros.’
It has been confirmed that a top 30 player on the men’s tour is one of those implicated in the scandal. His name hasn’t been revealed, however, he has reportedly won three titles on the ATP Tour. Based on information provided by ZDF and newspaper Welt. It is unclear as to how the player is linked to the investigation and what charges he has been accused of (if any).
A German player has confirmed the illegal operation to investigators. Hence why the story has been broken in Germany first. That person is said to not be one of the country’s top players. Investigations are ongoing in Spain, Belgium, France and America. It is speculated that the Armenian mafia is involved.
“This mafia is very structured, it has people who are responsible for the accounts, others who wash the money and those who make contact with the players.” Said Bisschop.
In recent years tennis’ governing bodies have pledged to combat match-fixing after a joint-report by the BBC/Buzzfeed News in January 2016 alleged that the sport had a problem with corruption. A report by the International Betting Integrity Association confirmed they were notified of 72 suspicious matches during the first three quarters of 2019. However, that was a 40% reduction compared to 2018 when the had a total of 121 alerts during the same period.
Besides Belgium’s Attorney General, no other country have publicly commented on the match-fixing investigation.
