SW Radio Africa
By Tererai Karimakwenda
20 July, 2011
The man who emerged as the main contact and Zimbabwean link in the match-fixing scandal now known as Asiagate has been jailed for two years. Wilson Raj Perumal was sentenced by a district court in Finland on Tuesday, after he was found guilty for his role in organizing players and officials who took part in fixing football matches in that country. Nine players were also found guilty and received suspended sentences.
A statement from the court focused on the fact that Perumal’s actions were planned and he represented an international betting syndicate, which paid players, coaches and other football officials to participate in match fixing and betting scams. Fifa and Interpol are also conducting their own investigations into allegations of corruption in international football.
Perumal, who is from Singapore, was fingered as the “mastermind†behind the Zimbabwe national team’s involvement in fixing 15 games in Asia between 2007 and 2009. He is alleged to have organized payments of over $28,000 per match for them to lose games. He reportedly made up to $70,000 per match, in addition to a share of the betting profits.
No arrests have been made in Zimbabwe so far, despite evidence revealed last week in a report by the Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa), who investigated the scandal. The Zimbabwean matches under investigation included the well known 2009 trip to Malaysia when Monomotapa fraudulently played as the national team.
Warriors Captain Method Mwanjali testified that former Zifa programmes officer, Jonathan Musavengana, had worked with Perumal and his associates to organize payments during the 2009 trip to Malaysia. “He told us to lose by a certain number of goals against Thailand so as to get our money or allowances,†Mwanjali accused Musavengana as saying.
Back in Zimbabwe the case continus to attract dramatic headlines, after a member of the Zifa committee that investigated the scandal reported he had received death threats. Benedict Moyo, who is reportedly in hiding, claimed that he was threatened with death through anonymous telephone calls.
According to the Daily News newspaper, Moyo said he feared for his life because his brother, the former FC Platinum coach Benjamin Moyo, died last month under “mysterious†circumstances.
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor, Gideon Gono, has also given evidence in the case, denying claims by the former Zifa chief executive officer Henrietta Rushwaya, that the RBZ had donated four vehicles and four generators for her personal use.
A Daily News report said Gono submitted a High Court affidavit that said the cars and generators “were donated to the association for use by the Zifa officials†who included Rushwaya “at the time†since she was the Zifa CEO.
Rushwaya, who was fired last year, is one of the top officials accused by Zifa of receiving bribes from Perumal and his agents, although she has denied the charges.
Meanwhile Zimbabwe’s Sports Minister David Coltart called on the police to investigate the football match fixing allegations. He said an independent body must be set up to deal with the scandal, headed by the police, lawyers and the Attorney General.