Skip to main content

Match-fixing suspect hands himself in to Italian police

February 21, 2013 -- Updated 1445 GMT (2245 HKT)
Interpol's secretary-general Ronald Noble praised the collaboration of Singaporean and Italian police.
Interpol's secretary-general Ronald Noble praised the collaboration of Singaporean and Italian police.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Match-fixing suspect arrested at Milan's Malpensa airport on Thursday
  • Admir Suljic tells authorities that he is boarding a flight from Singapore
  • Slovenian citizen had been on the run since December 2011
  • He is accused of being part of a syndicate which bet on Italian soccer matches

(CNN) -- A man suspected of being part of a major soccer match-fixing organization has given himself up to Italian police after being a fugitive since December 2011.

Admir Suljic, a former football player, was arrested at Milan's Malpensa airport Thursday following his arrival from Singapore, having told authorities he would do so via his defense lawyer.

The 31-year-old Slovenian has been accused of direct involvement in a transnational criminal group said to be composed of individuals from Singapore and the Balkans which had been targeted by the "Last Bet" investigation.

Authorities said the group's activities included influencing the results of Italian league matches during the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 seasons. Investigations into this have targeted top clubs such as Napoli, and involved a raid on the Italy team headquarters ahead of Euro 2012.

Admir Suljic, arrested by Italian police under suspicion of match-fixing.
Admir Suljic, arrested by Italian police under suspicion of match-fixing.

Read: The art of match-fixing

"This is exactly the type of result which can be achieved when police share information in real time and use Interpol's global network to locate, identify and arrest suspects," said the head of the worldwide policing agency, Ronald Noble.

"The arrest of this suspected match-fixer could not have been achieved without Italy and Singapore's close cooperation with Interpol, nor without a great deal of behind-the-scenes work by prosecutors and magistrates.

"Those who doubted Singapore's ability or commitment to fight match-fixing and bring those wanted for arrest to justice need to understand that Singapore acts when the evidence exists and is shared and when their laws permit. Singapore and Italy remain two of Interpol's most active and effective member countries."

Interpol said Suljic was one of more than 500 fugitives wanted by 59 member countries as part of 2012 Operation Infra-Red -- which has so far led to 130 people being arrested or located.

Read: Drogba's former club punished in match-fix case

Football match fixing in Singapore
Jerome Valcke: Match-fixing a 'disease'
Arrests in soccer match-fixing probe

He is suspected of working for Singaporean businessman Tan Seet Eng, also known as Dan Tan, who is also wanted by Italian authorities.

Italian police said Suljic had "spent a long period of inaction in Singapore in close contact with other members of the group of this organization, including a well-known Singaporean citizen."

Meanwhile, Singapore police said Thursday that four senior officers will go to Interpol's French headquarters in Lyon during the next fortnight to assist in match-fixing investigations.

The force said it hoped to help build "a concrete case" against the individuals and syndicates involved.

"The team aims to collect available information from these countries and seek their assistance to grant us access to evidence, witnesses and/or suspects whom they believe to be involved in the alleged match-fixing cases," read a statement.

Read: China's love of gambling skews sector

"The team will also be exploring avenues to offer our assistance and share available information we have with these affected countries."

Match-fixing has been described as a "disease" afflicting football by the secretary general of world governing body FIFA.

On Tuesday, Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua was stripped of its 2003 domestic league title and fined $160,000 after a crackdown against such activities.

It was one of 12 clubs involved, along with 33 individuals. Four former China internationals and an ex-World Cup referee were banned for life, having been jailed a year ago for the same offenses.

Match-fixing scandal engulfs Europe
380 football matches deemed suspicious

Interpol's European equivalent Europol has also revealed that 380 matches on the continent are under investigation, including top-level Champions League games.

The international players' union FIFPro said in December that it is planning to launch an online match-fixing "hotline" for its members.

On Wednesday, the acting president of the Asian Football Confederation highlighted the need to eliminate match-fixing from the game.

Read: Lifetime bans for 41 South Korean match-fix players

"We need to admit that match-fixing is a real danger to football's ethical values and needs to be eliminated to preserve the sanctity of the sport," Zhang Jilong told delegates at the Interpol conference in Kuala Lumpur.

"Match-fixing is too complex and widespread for one organization to fight it alone. To fight this, we need a joint and coordinated effort."

Interpol official Dale Sheehan highlighted the social costs of match-fixing.

"Criminals can make millions in illicit profits from match-fixing with little risk of being detected and will exploit every opportunity," he said at the conference.

"Sports and fair play are the very fabric of our society and youth, and the impact of match-fixing -- including murder, suicide, assault and threats -- has the ability to undermine that very fabric."

ADVERTISEMENT
Part of complete coverage on
CNN Football Club
Be part of CNN's coverage of European Champions League matches and join the social debate.
May 23, 2013 -- Updated 1052 GMT (1852 HKT)
The logo of FC Bayern Muenchen is pictured on the hood of an Audi A1 during a promotional event at the Audi factory on August 21, 2010 in Ingolstadt, Germany. Luxury-car manufacturer Audi turned cars over to the players of FC Bayern Muenchen.
When Germany's two biggest soccer clubs go head-to-head in the Champions League final, there can only be one winner: German industry.
May 22, 2013 -- Updated 1356 GMT (2156 HKT)
The Bundesliga model of sustainability is very much in vogue. But are Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund creating a dangerous duopoly?
May 23, 2013 -- Updated 1106 GMT (1906 HKT)
Bayern Munich super fan Boris Becker takes a tour of London ahead of the 2013 Champions League final.
May 23, 2013 -- Updated 1015 GMT (1815 HKT)
CNN takes an exclusive look at the venue of the Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund tease
CNN's Pedro Pinto gives his analysis of the Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
May 17, 2013 -- Updated 1710 GMT (0110 HKT)
David Beckham embraced his tag as a "gay icon" and has been credited with breaking the big taboo -- homosexuality in football.
May 13, 2013 -- Updated 0750 GMT (1550 HKT)
'King' Alex Ferguson is quitting Manchester United but the $3.17 billion brand will survive, according to experts.
May 7, 2013 -- Updated 1418 GMT (2218 HKT)
Italian football lags behind its other European rivals commercially, but newly-crowned Italian champions Juventus is showing Serie A clubs an example of revival.
April 24, 2013 -- Updated 1434 GMT (2234 HKT)
Luis Suarez's biting of Branislav Ivanovic is the latest episode of moments of madness when soccer stars behave badly.
March 29, 2013 -- Updated 0938 GMT (1738 HKT)
Former South African president and Nobel peace prize laureate Nelson Mandela joins guests at his home in Cape Town, on August 20, 2008 to celebrate his 90th birthday year, at an event organised by the Mandela Rhodes Foundation (RODGER BOSCH
Sunderland's partnership with the Nelson Mandela Foundation is part of its bid to woo the African market.
March 28, 2013 -- Updated 1558 GMT (2358 HKT)
South African children play football in a township in Bloemfontein on June 21, 2010. South Africa will face France in their final Group A, 2010 World Cup, first round football match on June 22.
Each year as many as 700 Cameroonian young footballers leave Africa in search of a professional career abroad.
May 6, 2013 -- Updated 1201 GMT (2001 HKT)
Referees across Europe are feeling the heat. Insulted, threatened, chased off the field, attacked, hospitalized and, tragically, killed.
February 26, 2013 -- Updated 1225 GMT (2025 HKT)
A real human brain being displayed as part of new exhibition at the @Bristol attraction is seen on March 8, 2011 in Bristol, England. The Real Brain exhibit - which comes with full consent from a anonymous donor and needed full consent from the Human Tissue Authority - is suspended in large tank engraved with a full scale skeleton on one side and a diagram of the central nervous system on the other and is a key feature of the All About Us exhibition opening this week.
Footballers have a battery of physios, fitness trainers and doctors all striving to fine-tune their physique -- but are they missing a trick?
February 26, 2013 -- Updated 1424 GMT (2224 HKT)
No Englishman has won the EPL title in over 20 years, while a leading manager reveals that English coaches are now "not respected abroad."
May 13, 2013 -- Updated 0933 GMT (1733 HKT)
Football supporters demonstrate in front of Italian TV RAI after the match between A.C.Milan and Lazio Roma was cancelled 11 November 2007. The spectre of football violence resurged in Italy on Sunday as the shooting dead of a fan sparked nationwide disturbances which forced the suspension of several Serie A matches. Banner reads 'Racism can stop League but death of tifosi has no signification.
Hardcore Italian football "ultra" Federico is a Lazio supporter who happily admits directing monkey chants at black players.
March 5, 2013 -- Updated 1123 GMT (1923 HKT)
When Jupp Heynckes made his Bundesliga debut as a player in 1965, the name of Bayern Munich was a new one for the nascent German league.
February 19, 2013 -- Updated 1902 GMT (0302 HKT)
Football's world governing body FIFA has confirmed it will use goal-line technology at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
February 19, 2013 -- Updated 1403 GMT (2203 HKT)
Match-fixing has become a worldwide issue, with hundreds of matches under investigation -- but how do you actually fix a football game?
February 18, 2013 -- Updated 1700 GMT (0100 HKT)
U.S soccer star Robbie Rogers has "come out" as gay on the day he retired from the game, making the announcement on his blog.
February 11, 2013 -- Updated 2231 GMT (0631 HKT)
The wealth of owners like Chelsea's Roman Abramovich often fuels success, but for other clubs such backers prove a mixed blessing.
January 30, 2013 -- Updated 1342 GMT (2142 HKT)
The Secret Footballer reveals the complex issues surrounding racism in the English Premier League.
ADVERTISEMENT