The Marseille prosecutor’s office (Bouches-du-Rhône) announced this Monday the indictment in France of five people suspected of being involved in an international organization making profits by rigging tennis tournaments. Members of the network allegedly bet large sums on matches and paid players to obtain the desired result, explains The Dispatch.
Six years, around ten countries
This scheme would have allowed the crooks to pocket “more than 800,000 euros in winnings identified to date”, the court said. The fixed matches would have taken place between 2018 and 2024 as part of competitions organized in around ten countries located on different continents. The players approached by the criminals had a ranking “beyond 100th place in the ATP”, detailed the prosecution.
They were offered money in exchange for which they had to lose a set or the entire match. Fourteen individuals were arrested in France, Bulgaria, Spain and Romania. The five indictees who had been arrested in France were placed under judicial supervision. Four suspects, including three former tennis players, were arrested in Bulgaria at the request of the French authorities and could soon be handed over to French justice.
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