Hong Kong’s anti-corruption agency and police have jointly arrested 19 people, including serving footballers and coaches, over illegal bookmaking, with one player accused of both fixing matches and handling illicit bets.
Principal investigator Bill Ng Siu-kei of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said on Friday that the agency and police had busted a local syndicate run by individuals within football. The investigation involved personnel from at least five clubs.
“They have used people related to the local football sector to receive bets, and used footballers’ network and corruption to fix local matches for profit,” Ng said.
The ICAC and police launched the operation on Tuesday. Nine suspects were arrested for match-fixing, 11 for illegal betting, and one 24-year-old footballer for both offences.
The syndicate placed illegal bets on local and overseas matches, including games in the ongoing Fifa World Cup, as well as professional and amateur fixtures.
Ng said the investigation emerged while the ICAC was looking into another local match-fixing case.