Key match-fixing suspect 'assisting' police

(CNN) -- A man believed to be at the center of a global football match-fixing ring is co-operating with authorities in Singapore, it was announced on Friday.

Singaporean businessman Tan Seet Eng, also known as Dan Tan, is thought to be a key figure in an ongoing investigation into corruption in soccer by global law enforcers Interpol.

The news follows Thursday's arrest of Admir Suljic in Italy, a 31-year-old Slovenian who has been accused of being directly involved with a transnational criminal group targeted by Interpol's "Last Bet" investigation.

The group, thought to be composed of individuals from Singapore and the Balkans, is said to have influenced the results of Italian league matches in the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons.

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"The Singapore authorities have been offering assistance and sharing available information with affected countries and will continue to do so," read a statement from Singapore police.

"Dan Tan Seet Eng, a Singaporean who has been named in reports so far, is currently assisting Singapore authorities in their investigations."

Police in the Asian country passed on information to Interpol which made possible the arrest of Suljic, who had been a fugitive since December 2011.

The statement continued: "In response to media queries, the Singapore Police Force confirms that it had informed Interpol National Central Bureau (NCB) Rome and Interpol's Command and Coordination Centre at Interpol HQ in Lyon, France of the travel plans of a person wanted by the Italian authorities for investigations into match-fixing.

"The Singapore Police provided this information as part of the regular and ongoing exchange that the Singapore Police Force has with its counterparts.

"The person has since been arrested by the Italian authorities and NCB Rome has sent a message to NCB Singapore thanking the Police for its support in this matter."

Earlier this month, senior European crime fighters Europol detailed how match-fixing had reached the upper echelons of European football.

Two matches in the continent's leading club competition, the European Champions League, were among 380 matches in 15 different countries deemed suspicious by Europol.

Rob Wainwright, director of the European law enforcement agency, branded it "a sad day for European football" while the general secretary of football's global governing body FIFA told CNN match-fixing was a "disease."

Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua were stripped of a domestic league title won in 2003 and fined $160,000 on Tuesday following a crackdown on corruption.

Shenhua were one of 12 clubs involved, along with 33 individuals. Four former China national team players and a former World Cup referee were banned for life, having been jailed a year ago for the same offenses.