Credit:  Europol /   Some €167,000 (£151,000) in cash was seized by police officers in operation in Spain

By Gary Raynaldo  DIPLOMATIC TIMES

Spanish authorities dismantled an organised crime group in Spain  involved in manipulating professional tennis matches. The gang operation was dismantled in an police action led by the Spanish Civil Guard and coordinated by the National High Court of Spain (Audiencia Nacional), supported by Europol.

An Armenian gang was reportedly watching over the crooked tennis matches.

A  Total of 83 Suspects Were Arrested, 28 of Them Are Professional Players.

Europol

The investigation was triggered in 2017 when the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) denounced irregular activities related to pre-arranged matches in the ITF Futures and Challenger tournaments, according to the European Union Police Organization (Europol).  

The suspects bribed professional players to guarantee predetermined results and used the identities of thousands of citizens to bet on the pre-arranged games. A criminal group of Armenian individuals used a professional tennis player, who acted as the link between the gang and the rest of the criminal group.   

Europol

Credit Skynews.com /Europol /  Some €167,000 (£151,000) in cash was seized by officers.

One of those arrested was Spanish tennis player Marc Fornell-Mestres, 36, who was suspended from professional tennis last month by the Tennis Integrity Unit, the sport’s anti-corruption body, according to Euronews.com.

The identities of the other players have not been revealed but Europol added that one of them had taken part in the last US Open.

Once they bribed the players, the Armenian network members attended the matches to ensure that the tennis players complied with what was previously agreed, and gave orders to other members of the group to go ahead with the bets placed at national and international level, Europol reported.   On the police action day, 11 house searches were carried out in Spain in which €167 000 in cash was seized, alongside a shotgun, over 50 electronic devices, credit cards, five luxury vehicles and documentation related to the case.  In addition, 42 bank accounts and their balances have been frozen, according to Europol.

VIDEO OF THE POLICE OPERATION:  Europol 

Credit: Europol / The Hague-based headquarters of Europol.

The Guardia Civil said the scam had been operating since at least February 2017 and could have generated profits running into millions of euros.   Europol supported the investigation from the beginning by providing continued analytical support. On the action day, three Europol experts were deployed to Spain to provide on-the-spot assistance including real-time cross-checks, IT forensic support, and data analysis during the operation.  Europol said International police cooperation across the European Union and beyond is a crucial factor in the fight against sports corruption.