THE News of the World has smashed a multi-million pound cricket match-fixing
ring which RIGGED the current Lord’s Test between England and Pakistan.
In the most sensational sporting scandal ever, bowlers Mohammad Amir and
Mohammad Asif delivered THREE blatant no-balls to order.
Their London-based fixer Mazhar Majeed, who let us in on the betting scam for
£150,000, crowed “this is no coincidence” before the bent duo made duff
deliveries at PRECISELY the moments promised to our reporter.
Armed with our damning dossier of video evidence, Scotland Yard launched their
own probe into the scandal.
CHECK BACK LATER TO VIEW DAMNING VIDEO EVIDENCE
Millions around the world watched Pakistan star bowlers Mohammad Amir and
Mohammad Asif deliver three no-balls in the Test against England on Thursday
and Friday at the historic home of cricket, Lord’s in London.
Unsuspecting fans packed the ground yesterday to watch Pakistan collapse as
they were bowled out for 74 in their first innings and forced to follow on.
But today our shock footage of the players’ fixer Mazhar Majeed taking a
massive £150,000 cash, and telling us EXACTLY when the no-balls would come,
proves the game was RIGGED.
Having already trousered a £10,000 upfront deposit – which he insisted had
gone to the stars – Majeed sat in our west London hotel room at the
Copthorne Tara on Wednesday night and eagerly counted out the £140,000
balance in bundles of crisp £50 notes – our “entry ticket” into his already
successful betting scam.
Our undercover team was posing as front men for a Far East gambling cartel. In
return for their suitcase of money Majeed then calmly detailed what would
happen – and when – on the field of play next day, as a taster of all the
lucrative information he could supply in future.
He promised: “I’m going to give you three no-balls to prove to you firstly
that this is what’s happening. They’ve all been organised, okay?
“This is EXACTLY what’s going to happen, you’re going to SEE these three
things happen. I’m telling you, if you play this right you’re going to make
a lot of money, believe me!”
We can sensationally reveal Majeed identified young Pakistan captain Salman
Butt as the ringleader of the band of cheats. He also named wicket keeper
Kamran Akmal and boasted he had a total of SEVEN corrupt cricketers in his
pocket, all banking huge sums from bookies and betting syndicates.
The scam, fuelled by greed, is a betrayal by the players not only of their
sport but of their cricket-crazy homeland.
As millions back home in Pakistan struggle against hunger and disease amid
devastating floods, the cheats were defiling the reputation of Lord’s and
lining their own pockets.
In a meeting with our investigators puppet-master Majeed:
- BRAGGED that the scam is rife and future games against England this summer are
already earmarked for cheating. - CONFESSED his match-fixing round the world had netted customers MILLIONS.
- REVEALED how he oversees cheating by using no-balls, specifying how many runs
will be scored or conceded in certain overs, with signals such as
changing gloves to confirm the fix is on. - ADMITTED he abuses his position as owner of non-league Croydon FC to launder
his illicit gains.
At one stage Majeed told us our syndicate could make “absolutely millions,
millions” by paying him up to £450,000 a time for info on matches, then
placing bets on the fixedoutcome. And he tried to excuse the players’
shameful behaviour, claiming: “These poor boys need to. They’re paid
peanuts.” Majeed said he had even opened Swiss bank accounts for them to
hide their ill-gotten gains. We launched our investigation two weeks ago
after a tip-off. The Pakistan side has long been dogged by match- fixing
allegations. Only today has the full shocking extent been laid bare.
Property tycoon Majeed, 35, has a £1.8 million home in Surrey and is a
familiar face at cricket grounds around the world. We infiltrated his
criminal network posing as wealthy businessmen on the make.
Majeed turned up for our first meeting on Monday, August 16, at the Hilton in
London’s Park Lane, dressed in jeans and a sweater. He immediately started
bragging of his connections with the Pakistani team. “I manage ten of the
players,” he told us. “I do all their affairs like contracts, sponsorship,
marketing, everything. I work very closely with the PCB (Pakistan Cricket
Board).”
Our reporters told him they wanted to organise their own Twenty20 tournament
in the Middle East. Majeed claimed he would be able to provide his players
for the right fee. When our man assured Majeed the players would do well out
of it, he immediately said with a wink: “I know what you’re talking about
because I know what goes on!” Majeed then hinted at the extent of cheating
in the game. . .
REPORTER: “If there’s two or three that are on for the other side, the
betting side, then good luck – they’ll be really happy.”
MAJEED: “There’s more than two or three. Believe me. It’s already set
up. That’s already there. I’m very wary speaking about this simply because I
don’t know you guys. I’ve been dealing with these guys for seven years,
okay? Who we deal with and how we deal with it is very, very important. This
is the main thing. I’m only dealing with certain people. How we do it and
what we do is very, very crucial.”
REPORTER: “You’re already dealing with another party on this matter?
Give us some tips as well if you’ve got any. Happy to cut us in?”
MAJEED: “Yeah I’ll give you tips.”
REPORTER: “If there’s anything we need to know in the forthcoming match
let me know. Happy to pay.”
Majeed said he was worried our men could be wearing tape recorders and he
would check them out before going further.
Two days later at the Bombay Brasserie Indian restaurant in central London,
Majeed told us we had begun to gain his trust. He had spent the day at the
Oval where Pakistan bowled England out for 233 on the first day of the third
Test. After a trusted source vouched for our credentials, Majeed relaxed and
laid his cards on the table. . .
MAJEED: “I do feel that I can speak to you about this, okay? Now, yes.
. . there is very big money in it.”
REPORTER: “There’s still? I know there was, but they clamped down on
match fixing I heard.”
MAJEED: “They’ve toned down match fixing a lot, yeah. They’ve made it
very, very difficult. These guys won’t deal with just anybody. The only
reason they’ll deal with me is because they know I’m professional,
they’ve known me for years.
“I’ve been doing it with them, the Pakistani team, for about 2½ years. And
we’ve made masses and masses of money.” Later that night Majeed boasted how
it was the players who got HIM into match-fixing. He told us: “The players
would never tell anybody else. They were the ones who actually approached me
about this. This is the beauty of it.
“I was friends with them for four, five years and then they said this happens.
I said really?”
Majeed then described how the betting scam operates. He reached into a carrier
bag, pulled out a white BlackBerry phone and flicked through a series of
messages.
“I deal with an Indian party,” he said. “They pay me for the information.”
Then Majeed explained how many cricket bets are placed on what he called
“brackets” – events happening in a group of 10 overs.
If players score well in the first three overs punters would be likely to bet
on that continuing for the next seven. But if the fixed players then
deliberately STOP scoring or slow down, anybody in on it can “make a
killing”, said Majeed. The same happens with bowlers giving away runs or
throwing no-balls.
Not only is Majeed’s information invaluable to syndicates involved in spread
betting – where wagers are staked on a range of possible outcomes – it is
also golddust for shady bookies looking to manipulate the odds in their
favour.
The following night – Thursday August 19 – Majeed demanded £10,000 then
revealed to us there would be two no-balls in the following day’s Oval play.
That fix was cancelled on the day. So was a promised maiden over by captain
Salman Butt on the Saturday – final day of the Test England lost. But days
later – with our extra £140,000 in his hands – he delivered the promised
goods at Lord’s.
Last night a Scotland Yard spokesman said: “Following information from the
News of the World we have today arrested a 35-year-old man on suspicion of
conspiracy to defraud bookmakers.”
Scotland Yard officers last night visited Lord’s and the Pakistan players’
London hotel. Police are set to speak to the players today and will liaise
with officials from the International Cricket Commission and the Pakistan
Cricket Board.
The man responsible for disciplinary repercussions is Sri Lankan match referee
Ranjan Madugalle, 51, who could impose fines or bans.
But in an extreme case such as this it is likely he will hand over to ICC
chief Harron Lorgat to decide if the game should be abandoned.
No comments:
Post a Comment