An online sports betting fixing network with 53 ‘mules’ and a system that was ahead of live broadcast falls

The National Police has dismantled a criminal organization that fixed online betting, mostly from subjectsGrassroots and minority sports in 20 countries And its operation was based on the recruitment of 53 young people from the Madrid and Toledo community as ‘mules’, as well as a “very sophisticated” technical system that intercepted live broadcasts of sporting events thanks to satellite dishes.

Specifically, it was a “feed content capture” system as it allowed large satellite dishes installed in homes – two have been seized – to capture the live signal of a sporting event before it reached the betting houses. .

They took advantage of this delay in the signal to place large winning bets, mostly on minority sports, although the network tried without success on other sports such as the World Cup in Qatar and the UEFA Nations League and the German Bundesliga.

“In Spain we can live peacefully,” Police officers said this when asked at a press conference in the Canillas complex in Madrid about the possibility of this type of fraud in national competitions going undetected. The plan was based on a system of fixing with a predetermined result and, on the other hand, capturing the live broadcast.

75 prisoners and business worth Rs 80 crore

This action was taken under the direction of the National Court. A total of 75 prisoners convicted of rigging sports events in more than 20 countries – not counting ‘mules’ – have been released in two phases, such as Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Russia or Bolivia. Researchers estimate that they have received awards of up to two million euros since 2012, with a total business volume of approximately 80 million.

The investigation began in 2020 when it detected a table tennis match played in Brazil with Spain betting that Spain “always won” and large amounts of money at stake, as reported by agents of the Judicial Police Station in the Canillas complex. Was reported. National Police, Customs Surveillance, Europol and Interpol.

These bets, placed on table tennis matches with predetermined results, exposed members of this organization from Bulgaria and Romania, who had contacts with 25 players of this genre, including a former player.

‘Mules’ give up their identities in exchange for small sums of money And Caught in the community of Madrid and Toledo,Most of them are young people between 18 and 25 years of age, with practically no income.

Registration in Guadalajara, Madrid and Zaragoza

In the first phase, along with 22 detainees, two leaders of the network were allowed to be jailed along with four searches in Guadalajara, Madrid and Zaragoza. The network regularly used cryptocurrencies and payment gateways to try to hide the movement and laundering of money.

turn by turnIt turned out that they controlled 1,500 gaming accounts with huge amounts of data and 47 bank accounts and 400,000 euros were blocked in cryptocurrencies.

The investigation began after the fraud was detected by the Directorate General of Gambling Regulation and the National Police Center for Integration in Sports and Betting (CENPIDA), which led to police proceedings under the coordination of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and the Central Court. Directive 3 of the National Court.