Interpol Secretary General Says Singapore Match-Fixing Ring Was World's Largest

Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble said a football match-fixing ring based in Singapore was the world's "largest and most aggressive" such operation, according to the AFP. Noble "hailed the arrest in Singapore last week of 14 suspects." Noble said, "I'm confident that Singapore law enforcement authorities have arrested the mastermind and leader of the world's most notorious match-fixing syndicate." A source said that "among those arrested was Singaporean businessman Dan Tan, the syndicate's suspected head." He and four others "are now being held without bail under a tough law designed for criminal gang members." European police agency Europol in February said that "it had smashed a network rigging hundreds of games, including in the Champions League and World Cup qualifiers." Europol said at that time that "a five-country probe had identified 380 suspicious matches targeted by a Singapore-based betting cartel" (AFP, 9/24).