Interpol offers help to battle match-fixing and illegal betting

Interpol said Friday it was looking at a possible tie-up with the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Indian board to help fight the growing menace of match-fixing and illegal betting.

The proposal was made by Interpol secretary general Ronald Noble during a two-day meeting in New Delhi with officials of India’s Central Bureau of Investigation and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Speaking to reporters, Noble said Interpol already had an agreement with football’s world governing body, FIFA, to promote integrity in the sport.

“We’d be happy if we can implement a similar agreement with the BCCI and the ICC,” Noble said.

In May this year, FIFA agreed to provide $20 million to Interpol over a 10-year period in an effort to tackle match-fixing and keep an eye on illegal betting syndicates spread all over the world.

Noble said Interpol could keep a check on cricket’s “bad boys” from its research and development facility in Singapore where the FIFA anti-corruption unit is also based.

“Young players are easy targets for illegal gambling syndicates,” said Noble, who has been heading the world’s top organisation for police co-operation for 11 years.

“We can teach players all the ways by which they can be tripped into a betting ring. Basically, we want to prevent organised crime from getting into cricket.”

Noble said he expected his proposal to get a final seal of approval when the ICC meets in Dubai on January 31.

“The ICC does a great job in fighting corruption through their anti-corruption unit. We want to draw on that experience,” Noble added.

Cricket has most recently been rocked by a spot-fixing scandal that saw three Pakistan cricketers jailed in November, along with their agent. AFP