Inside Asian Gaming

MArch 2016 inside asian gaming 37 Blast from the Past March 2013 China, where Mr Perumal says his syndicate places most of its bets, is another black hole. The country’s Super League has become a byword for corruption. Match fixing is so widespread the country’s largest television network has in the past refused to broadcast its games. Two former heads of the China Football Association are serving lengthy prison sentences, as are four former national team players and a 2002 World Cup referee. They are among 33 Chinese recently expelled for life from world football. Twenty-five others have been slapped with partial bans. “It’s definitely beyond and above the world of sport, above and beyond FIFA,” says Interpol’s Ron Noble. “It’s fair to say we haven’t caught up to the scale of the problem.” As for the elusive Mr Tan, he “is currently assisting Singapore authorities in their investigations,” according to a statement issued by police there. He remains a free man, and to date, the city-state’s powers have not been inclined to interfere with that. Italian authorities say if they can’t get their hands on him they may try him in absentia. Of what value this would be beyond the “symbolic importance” attributed to it by FIFA’s current head of security, Ralf Mutschke, is impossible to say. “You give him a name, so everyone is talking about Dan Tan and Dan Tan syndicates and Dan Tan here and Dan Tan there,” he told AP. “If we kill Dan Tan then you will have no match-fixing? No, I think it’s not as easy as this.” It was to the Philippines that Vietnamese authorities traced a gambling ring they busted in January that was moving millions out of their country on a daily basis. One seized account contained the equivalent of US$470 million. China’s Super League has in the past been deemed too corrupt to televise. “It’s definitely beyond and above the world of sport, above and beyond FIFA,” says Interpol’s Ron Noble. “It’s fair to say we haven’t caught up to the scale of the problem.”