Match-fixing syndicates used the lockdown period imposed in many countries amid the Covid-19 pandemic to contact players who could throw matches when football seasons were allowed to restart.

In an exclusive interview with The Straits Times, Interpol's Match-Fixing Task Force (MTF) said it has seen a "marked increase" in online betting related to match-fixing schemes, but did not provide figures of the spike.

Mr Claudio Marinelli, who is project manager in Interpol's MTF and a criminal intelligence officer with the world policing body, said match-fixers took advantage of the Covid-19-related restrictions to exploit the betting and sports industry.

"One of the biggest risks identified is that the criminal facilitators will contact players directly (on social media, for example) during the Covid-19-imposed restrictions in order to build a relationship with them," Mr Marinelli told ST.

"This can be a time of heightened vulnerability for many athletes due to the financial uncertainty surrounding the future of sport."

Lower-level competitions also imply a lower level of wages for players, which made sportsmen easier to approach and bribe, he added.

Once restrictions were eased, the match-fixers attempted to meet the players in person with a view towards corrupting them and exploiting future opportunities, said Mr Marinelli.

These illegal syndicates did not make inroads in football alone.

A check with the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) showed that in the second quarter of this year, when some football leagues and other sports were allowed to restart, there were 58 alerts sent out over suspicious betting trends.

The association, the leading global voice on integrity for the licensed betting industry, said football accounted for four of the alerts flagged by IBIA. The others included table tennis, volleyball and tennis.

In the same period last year, there were 51 suspicious matches - 18 of them involved football.

Mr Marinelli said the syndicates have also been exploiting the fact that the matches may escape scrutiny with stadiums empty.

"A lower (spectator) attendance rate and less media exposure are crucial to keep match fixing under the radar," he added.

"However, televising the match is also key for the in-play betting that makes match fixing so profitable. For that reason, criminals will generally seek a balance, targeting a match that is broadcast - perhaps on social media - but not on major channels."

Mr Marinelli said the syndicates are using false or stolen credentials to open betting accounts online, and electronic payment methods such as cryptocurrencies.

They are also taking, directly or indirectly, the control of clubs, even through sponsorships.

WILSON RAJ

On July 31, Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter exposed an alleged attempt to influence a local team.

The newspaper reported that Swedish Division 1 Nykoping BIS had signed a deal on July 24 with Sugar Computing, purportedly an e-sport programming company based in Debrecen, Hungary.

A check by ST showed that according to Hungarian business records, the company's main activity is in retail sale of computers and software.

The company claimed it wanted to sponsor Nykoping BIS and recruit young African players with the intention of marketing them. The club's press statement quoted a Ms Bella Istenes as a Sugar Computing representative.

Ms Istenes was photographed signing the contract. But a few days later, the partnership was scrapped and she became uncontactable.

At the time of the signing, the club was not aware Ms Istenes is the mother of convicted Singaporean match-fixer Wilson Raj's children, and his live-in partner. ST provided Dagens Nyheter with Ms Istenes' details.

The club was also not aware that Sugar Computing's parent company is a Hong Kong-based firm which had been flagged last year for suspicious club deals with two football teams in the Kenyan Premier League.

In February, ST reported the lucrative Kenyan deals came with unusual terms - selected foreign footballers must be allowed to play in matches - signed by Singaporean representatives from the Hong Kong company.

The four Singaporeans were in fact associates of Wilson Raj, Chann Sankaran and Titani Periasamy - Singaporeans convicted overseas for rigging football matches. Wilson Raj remains in Hungary as a prosecution witness.

Nykoping BIS sports director Patrik Berglin told ST "the publicity that followed helped us to expose these people so that no more harm was done to the club".

ST has contacted Wilson Raj for his comments.

TRILLIONS IN BETS

The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) noted in an Aug 5 report that the Covid-19 outbreak may have disrupted sports manipulation and the betting sector due to the limited number of sporting competitions offered on betting markets.

But Europol added that "it is highly possible that match-fixers will focus on the few matches being held and put them under greater risk".

The report estimated the global betting market for all sports at €1.69 trillion annually ($2.74 trillion) while the global criminal proceeds from betting-related match fixing are estimated at €120 million a year.

Mr Marinelli said that Asian betting markets continue to be a driver for match fixing because of the high odds offered and the high level of confidentiality that exists.

But with the implementation of dedicated laws in the last decade, there is now a more solid framework for law enforcement practitioners and football stakeholders to take action.

The Macolin Convention, also known as the Council of Europe convention against the manipulation of sports competition, entered into force in September last year, providing a definition of match fixing that is broadly accepted.

Interpol continues to monitor match-fixing trends during the Covid-19 pandemic, said Mr Marinelli.

If a specific modus operandi is detected, it will issue a Purple Notice to its 194 member countries.

Meanwhile in Singapore, the police on Sept 7 arrested 36 people for their suspected involvement in providing remote illegal 4-D, horse racing and football gambling services.

Among them was a man who became a person-of-interest for world football governing body Fifa due to a 2011 attempt to fix an international friendly match in the United Arab Emirates.