Singapore Thursday revoked the citizenship of a Malianborn soccer player for allegedly being a member of a global match-fixing syndicate, authorities and reports said.
Local media said Gaye Alassane, who played with a local club, was first detained in 2013 as part of a sweeping crackdown on match-fixing groups amid allegiations that Singapore had become a hub for the illicit practice.
Announcing the latest move, the interior ministry said it had stripped citizenship from a 43-hear-old who was an "active and trusted member" of a major syndicate which operated out of the Southeast Asian financial hub.
"The individual's serious criminal conduct not only undermined the integrity of Singapore's financial system, but also law and order," said a ministry statement.
The Strait Times identified him as base for football match-fixing efforts and transporting bribe money.
Allegiations of Singapore being used as base for football match-fixing stained the city-state's reputation as one of the world's least corrupt nations, and prompted authorities to launch a clampdown.
Alassane was reportedly a member of a syndicate led by businessman Dan Tan, which experts said was one of the most aggressive in the world.
Tan was first arrested in 2013 after being repeatedly cited in Italian court papers for his role in transnational match-fixing.
He has not faced a trial or been charged - it can be difficult to bring cases against alleged match-fixers as witnesses are sometimes fearful of testifying - but remains behind bars under a tough law that allows for suspects to be detained without charge.
AFP/Singapore
Local media said Gaye Alassane, who played with a local club, was first detained in 2013 as part of a sweeping crackdown on match-fixing groups amid allegiations that Singapore had become a hub for the illicit practice.
Announcing the latest move, the interior ministry said it had stripped citizenship from a 43-hear-old who was an "active and trusted member" of a major syndicate which operated out of the Southeast Asian financial hub.
"The individual's serious criminal conduct not only undermined the integrity of Singapore's financial system, but also law and order," said a ministry statement.
The Strait Times identified him as base for football match-fixing efforts and transporting bribe money.
Allegiations of Singapore being used as base for football match-fixing stained the city-state's reputation as one of the world's least corrupt nations, and prompted authorities to launch a clampdown.
Alassane was reportedly a member of a syndicate led by businessman Dan Tan, which experts said was one of the most aggressive in the world.
Tan was first arrested in 2013 after being repeatedly cited in Italian court papers for his role in transnational match-fixing.
He has not faced a trial or been charged - it can be difficult to bring cases against alleged match-fixers as witnesses are sometimes fearful of testifying - but remains behind bars under a tough law that allows for suspects to be detained without charge.
AFP/Singapore
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