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Three guilty in match fixing probe

18 June 2014

Three men suspected of trying to manipulate the scorelines of football matches have been found guilty of conspiracy to commit bribery.

The jury at Birmingham Crown Court found that Chann Sankaran, a Singapore national, and Krishna Ganeshan, a UK national originally from Sri Lanka, were the central conspirators in the match fixing plot, and had recruited Michael Boateng, a player from Conference South team Whitehawk FC, to help them. A fourth man, Hakeem Adelakun, was acquitted. There will be a retrial in respect of a fifth man, on whom the jury was unable to reach a verdict.

The Gambling Commission’s Sports Betting Intelligence Unit (SBIU) and the Football Association supported the National Crime Agency during the investigation.

Commission Director of Regulation Nick Tofiluk said: “We welcome the work of the NCA and we continue to work in partnership with law enforcement agencies, sport and betting operators to ensure that match fixers, whatever the sport, are identified and dealt with."

Ends

Update: On 20 June 2014 three men suspected of trying to manipulate the scorelines of football matches were found guilty of conspiracy to commit bribery and received sentences totalling in excess of 11 years in prison.

Update: On 29 April 2015 a jury at Birmingham Crown Court found that Delroy Facey, 35, and Moses Swaibu, 25, had attempted to corrupt lower league players to influence the outcome of matches, enabling betting on the fixed outcomes. They were given prison sentences of two and a half years, and 16 months, respectively.

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Last updated: 3 December 2020

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