Sabiondo
Well-known member
FIFA and Interpol announced Monday they launched a $20 million anti-corruption drive to stop match fixing and illegal betting on soccer.
The announcement was made at a press conference at the soccer association’s Zurich headquarters by FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter and Interpol Secretary General Ronald K. Noble. FIFA will provide the money to Interpol under the initiative, and it will set up an anti-corruption training wing within the Interpol Global Complex in Singapore, where it will train and educate players and officials on how to protect themselves from corruption.
Senior investigators from Finland and Germany, where there are ongoing investigations into match fixing, were in town to brief Blatter and Secretary General Jerome Valcke on the problem, according to a Dow Jones Newswires report.
“In the fight against illegal betting and match-fixing, the preventive measures that can be taken and the protection of the players and the integrity of the game are of the utmost importance,” said Blatter.
“It is not enough to go against corruption or bad behavior on the field of play, we have to look for those who try to destroy our game,” he added.
During the press conference, FIFA also announced the creation of an internal Betting Integrity Investigation Task Force, which will be made up of members of FIFA’s Legal Division and Security Department, as well as the Early Warning System GmbH, its internal betting monitor.
Noble said an operation in in Malaysia, China, Singapore and Thailand against illegal match betting during the 2010 World Cup netted 5,000 arrests and seized $26 million.
The Daily Telegraph reported last week on a major inquiry by FIFA, working with Interpol, into a match-fixing ring it believes has been targeting friendly international matches.
In the Newswires report, Commissioner Friedhelm Athans, from Bochum Police in Germany, said he was involved in investigating 300 suspicious matches since 2009. The matches stretch across 20 countries in Europe, and range from internationals, Champions League, Europa League and league games down to the fourth division in Germany.
So far, 20 people have been arrested in Athans’ investigation, and the first have gone on trial, according to Newswires.
“The amounts involved, with the players, referees and officials is 1.7 million euro, but this is barely the tip of the iceberg,” Athans said.
http://blogs.wsj.com/corruption-cur...n-anti-corruption-drive/?mod=google_news_blog
The announcement was made at a press conference at the soccer association’s Zurich headquarters by FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter and Interpol Secretary General Ronald K. Noble. FIFA will provide the money to Interpol under the initiative, and it will set up an anti-corruption training wing within the Interpol Global Complex in Singapore, where it will train and educate players and officials on how to protect themselves from corruption.
Senior investigators from Finland and Germany, where there are ongoing investigations into match fixing, were in town to brief Blatter and Secretary General Jerome Valcke on the problem, according to a Dow Jones Newswires report.
“In the fight against illegal betting and match-fixing, the preventive measures that can be taken and the protection of the players and the integrity of the game are of the utmost importance,” said Blatter.
“It is not enough to go against corruption or bad behavior on the field of play, we have to look for those who try to destroy our game,” he added.
During the press conference, FIFA also announced the creation of an internal Betting Integrity Investigation Task Force, which will be made up of members of FIFA’s Legal Division and Security Department, as well as the Early Warning System GmbH, its internal betting monitor.
Noble said an operation in in Malaysia, China, Singapore and Thailand against illegal match betting during the 2010 World Cup netted 5,000 arrests and seized $26 million.
The Daily Telegraph reported last week on a major inquiry by FIFA, working with Interpol, into a match-fixing ring it believes has been targeting friendly international matches.
In the Newswires report, Commissioner Friedhelm Athans, from Bochum Police in Germany, said he was involved in investigating 300 suspicious matches since 2009. The matches stretch across 20 countries in Europe, and range from internationals, Champions League, Europa League and league games down to the fourth division in Germany.
So far, 20 people have been arrested in Athans’ investigation, and the first have gone on trial, according to Newswires.
“The amounts involved, with the players, referees and officials is 1.7 million euro, but this is barely the tip of the iceberg,” Athans said.
http://blogs.wsj.com/corruption-cur...n-anti-corruption-drive/?mod=google_news_blog