A Chinese syndicate and its Maltese intermediary are the masterminds behind match fixing in domestic leagues, according to a former president of a top-flight club.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the former official told The Sunday Times of Malta the network of corruption included certain club officials, players and well known criminals.

He described a system where gamblers placed their money with a handful of match fixers linked to clubs, who then hooked up with the Maltese intermediary with contacts in China.

The source did not divulge the name of the intermediary to this newspaper but insisted he was involved with a top-flight club.

“The intermediary deals with the Chinese syndicate that uses betting companies in South East Asia to place the bets,” the source said, adding the intermediary received compensation even if the result was not favourable.

Thousands of euros are played in this way and the winnings are lucrative enough to ensure players are paid handsomely for ‘mistakes’ made during the game, he added. “Many Premier and first division games are rigged in this way.”

The source said match fixers had key players in every team, who would be willing to get involved. Players were sometimes asked to put up a €5,000 guarantee as a sign of goodwill when they agreed to cooperate.

Players are paid their dues a day after the game while gamblers collect their winnings a week later, the source said.

“For someone who is likely to make stratospheric returns from betting on a rigged game, disbursing €20,000 between eight players or less is an ‘investment’ worth making,” the former club official said. He said match results for certain clubs showed patterns that indicated corruption.

There have been instances when particular clubs won the match but inadvertently almost always ended the first-half on the receiving end, he added.

Another suspicious pattern would involve a string of good results by an average club that would then slump in the second half of the season.

“What happens is these fixers support a team in the early stages of the league campaign to create a winning team. The odds on this team midway in the season become higher for a loss. That is when the team starts to lose ensuring superior returns.”

The source said bets were placed on half-time scores, full-time results, correct score and what is known as the “lucky four combination” – when the game ends with a total tally of four goals.

He insisted it was only the police who could break this network by using phone tapping and tracking the wealth of individuals known to gravitate in these circles.

His testimony is the second in as many months by former club officials who approached this newspaper with information on the system used to fix matches.

A former club official had told the Times of Malta there were four or five Maltese betting syndicates that involved some known criminals that tried to fix matches and ensure good winnings from online gaming companies.

In May brothers Adrian and Robert Farrugia were implicated in a match fixing ring in Italy after a police operation codenamed Dirty Soccer. The police had observed the brothers in the company of Italian match fixers in Italy and also intercepted phone calls between Robert and one of the ringleaders.

A transcript of one phone conversation showed Robert Farrugia angrily demanding repayment for a loss of €52,000 on a match gone wrong and because Chinese gamblers were threatening his brother.

kurt.sansone@timesofmalta.com