Baku-APA. Eight people, including two players and two managers of FC Daugava were detained on Oct. 22, on suspicions of systematic match-fixing, Andrejs Grisins, chief of the Latvian police, told journalists Friday, APA reports quoting Xinhua.
The group of people suspected of organizing the match-fixing scheme in the southeastern city of Daugavpils are facing charges of large-scale fraud, money laundering and tax evasion, Grisins said.
The leader of the group, whose name was not revealed at Friday's press conference, was taken into custody on Friday. Seven other suspects were released, but the footballers and club managers have been banned from professional activity.
"They have been banned either from playing football or holding soccer-related offices," the police official said.
Citing unofficial information, LETA news agency reported that the only suspect arrested on Friday was Olegs Gavrilovs, the ex-president of Latvia's Dinaburg FC, who has been barred for life for previous manipulations with football match results.
According to media reports, the Daugava FC players and managers taken into custody on Wednesday include Ivan Tabanov, the head coach of Daugava FC, and the club's players Aleksandrs Vlasovs and Jevgenijs Kosmacovs. The name of the other club manager detained for his alleged connection with the case has not been made public.
"The manipulations took place during international matches and the local championship. Each participant of the organized group had been assigned a particular role. There were bribed people who could influence results of the games and people who handled the cash flow. We have established during the investigation that the unpaid taxes alone make up hundreds of thousands of euros, so you can imagine the financial turnover of these unlawful activities," Grisins said.
According to the police official, the alleged match-fixing scheme had been going on for quite a long time.
Follow us on Telegram
t.me/apanewsaz
Follow us on Instagram
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
