Wilson Raj Perumal (Above) [email protected] “Seeking Match-Fixing in Europe
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2 Saturday, January 7 2012 G THE NEW PAPER THE NEW PAPER G Saturday, January 7 2012 3 News Fifa working with kelong insiders FIFA’S kelong hunters will “fight fire with fire” to protect football. It is working with informants in organised crime syndicates to foil match-fixing attempts, said Fifa’s security head, Mr Chris TELLING IT ALL: Eaton (below), on the website of football’s (Left and below) world governing body. Extracts of the letter He said: “Match-fixing can and does which Wilson Raj impact on qualifiers for Fifa competitions, Perumal sent to The and could impact on the global events New Paper. In it, he themselves. alleges that Dan Tan “What we’re doing now is developing gave him up to the sources both in criminal organisations and PICTURE: Finnish authorities. football that will advise us.” AFP On Fifa’s radar are World Cup qualifiers between nations that are unlikely to reach the REPORTS: ZAIHAN MOHAMED YUSOF finals in Brazil in 2014. probe into football Match-fixers Wilson Raj Perumal (above) [email protected] “Seeking match-fixing in Europe. could manipulate German, Turkish, such matches. breaks silence on fellow kelong E CLAIMED he would have taken the secret to police Hungarian and Italian in- the grave. Other areas of king Dan Tan, claims he’s doing H assistance vestigators began moni- focus include 50 But convicted match-fixer Wilson Raj Perumal toring Dan Tan’s syndi- could not hold his peace, especially after what a former active national it because Tan sold him out cate. colleague had done to him first, he said. probes which are is a Last month, the coor- Wilson Raj believes that the ex-colleague, business- being monitored dinated probes resulted by Fifa man Dan Tan Seet Eng, betrayed him to the Finnish violation in 17 arrest warrants be- police. investigators ing issued in Italy, includ- based in Jordan, Dan Tan, a Singaporean, is now on Italy’s wanted of code number one in ing those for three Singa- list for allegedly heading a match-fixing cartel suspect- Colombia, poreans, one of whom is TNP understands that the financially-strapped Bo- Malaysia and ed of manipulating Serie A and B matches. any criminal business. Dan Tan. Wilson Raj’s latest revelation – in a letter sent exclu- livian Football Association (BFA) was targeted in Sep- Britain. Nevertheless, Wilson Raj declined to fully explain tember 2010. Starting next TIP sively to The New Paper (TNP) – has shed more light on how he knew Dan Tan was behind his arrest. Dan Tan broke this how foreign law enforcement agencies came to know of In previous letters to TNP, Wilson Raj admitted month, Fifa will Wilson Raj fled Singapore around July 2010 after sending Santia Raj to seal a deal with BFA. open a hotline for his elusive partner. failing to show up at an appeals hearing against a Wilson Raj had exposed Dan Tan to the Finnish code and stirred the Instead, Santia Raj signed the contract on behalf of a whistle-blowers. five-year corrective training sentence for injuring an fake company, Footy Media. The authorities after his arrest at Helsinki Vantaa interna- auxiliary policeman. tional airport in February last year. hornet’s nest...” It was then that Wilson Raj decided “to get even with three-month ST FILE PICTURE In interviews with Finnish police obtained by TNP, Dan Tan” and recoup his losses in the Bolivia deal. campaign features a website, telephone His letter, dated Dec 29, 2011, explains why he decid- Wilson Raj said that he was part of a global syndicate – Wilson Raj Perumal on Dan Tan (inset) Wilson Raj said he raised quotation prices on number and e-mail address in all languages ed to rat on Dan Tan. headed by a Singaporean financier. projects “we had planned to execute in Finland”. for informants. Wilson Raj, 46, who is serving a two-year sentence in TNP learnt that Joseph Tan was an associate of He previously claimed that Santia Raj had betrayed This may have led to his downfall. Added Mr Eaton: “In 2012, players, FOR Finland for match-fixing, said: “Seeking police assist- Anthony Santia Raj – Wilson Raj’s former-employ- him and sold his projects to an investor. Wilson Raj did He said his high quotations could have prompted officials and even administrators will have a ance is a violation of code number one in any criminal ee-turned-rival. not name the investor. Until now. Dan Tan to get rid of him and take over the Finnish place to go – even anonymously – to tell their business. Both Santia Raj and Joseph Tan were present at “I chose not to disclose his (Dan Tan’s) true identity projects. story, and that’s with the commencement of “Dan Tan broke this code and stirred the hornet’s fixed international friendly matches played in Antalya, in the initial stages because I had no inkling of his He also thinks that Dan Tan assumed he had tipped the amnesty, rewards and hotline nest... I cannot be held accountable for something that Turkey, on Feb 9, 2011, said Fifa. involvement leading to my arrest,” he wrote in his off the authorities on the two matches played in An- programme.” was ignited by Dan (Tan) and Anthony (Santia Raj).” Wilson Raj, who is a fugitive from Singapore, added: letter. Both Santia Raj and Dan Tan have not been de- “He (Dan Tan) plotted with Anthony to get rid of me... talya. Said Mr Eaton, a former Interpol officer: tained or charged. He knew the precise date and time of my arrival. He ‘Thieves falling out’? The two international friendlies involving Estonia, “We see the footprints of Singaporean Wilson Raj claimed that Dan Tan had sent a whis- also knew I was travelling on a forged passport.” Bulgaria, Latvia and Bolivia were organised by Footy criminals throughout Europe, Africa and TAT tle-blower, Joseph Tan, to tip off Finnish police on his To the law enforcement agencies, Wilson Raj’s con- Fifa’s security head Chris Eaton said what Wilson Media, which vanished overnight. Central America. kelong operations in Rovaniemi, Finland. fession was the “smoking gun” – sparking a massive Raj is divulging now may just be a game of “thieves Its telephone numbers and website were no longer “The infiltration of serious criminals into falling out”. in use when Fifa tried to contact Santia Raj. our associations and football generally is the He told TNP in an e-mail: “The fact that Perumal Fifa had investigated the matches, in which all sev- most pressing issue.” now reveals, in his own writing, some more of his en goals were penalties, after detecting strange betting In March last year, Fifa foiled an OUT ON MONDAY criminal relationships out of Singapore, is just further patterns. attempted fix in the United Arab Emirates by cause for relevant authorities to take action. An associate of Dan Tan told TNP last month that a Singaporean syndicate. “The significance of the Singapore connections in Wilson Raj was ungrateful and not to be trusted. The two runners sent by the syndicate to global match-fixing cannot be ignored or denied any He said Dan Tan had lent Wilson Raj money for past report on the matches got cold feet and fled longer.” projects and even invested in his companies. before half-time. But they were Wilson Raj said in his letter that he was in business In his letter, Wilson Raj did not deny Dan Tan’s photographed and their identities uncovered with Dan Tan for the last three years. generosity and described him as a helpful, jovial and by the investigators. Their relationship soured when Dan Tan allegedly flexible person, who on one occasion, had lent him The New Paper understands that Fifa’s tried to steal his business. $200,000 on short notice. success was based on a tip-off from a Wilson Raj said: “He went behind my back to negoti- But he claimed Dan Tan has a dark side. Singaporean source in the syndicate. ate business with Anthony (Santia Raj), knowing very Wilson Raj alleged: “He has a jealous nature and will Added Mr Eaton: “We are creating a well these projects were initiated by me. never allow a competitor from the same field to super- Cheated hostile environment for match-fixers to make Your one-stop guide to the “I only found out both of them had made a fool out sede him. He once instigated a Chinese national to of the them realise we will expose them, name the of me when I caught a glimpse of (referee) Ibrahim vanish with $720,000 of my money.” Cup? them, and make them subject to big step after the O levels new Chaibou officiating the Bolivia v Venezuela internation- Santia Raj and Dan Tan could not be reached for /PAGE investigation somewhere in the world.” al friendly in October 2010.” comment. 62 Watch out for our 48-page special in The New Paper paper and online at www.tnpgoguide.sg TNP hotline: 1800-7 33 44 55 Website: tnp.sg Email: [email protected] Fax: 6319 8266 To subscribe: 6388 3838 2 Thursday, June 14 2012 G THE NEW PAPER THE NEW PAPER G Thursday, June 14 2012 3 News As heads roll in Italy’s football match-rigging saga, Spore’s alleged kelong king Dan Tan (left) gets fingered in investigation papers He made MILLIONS fixing 33games in 2years REPORT: DILENJIT SINGH and ZAIHAN MOHAMED YUSOF “Although there [email protected] have been significant E’S the “leader” and “organiser” of a global match-fixing syndicate that has plagued Italian arrests, we believe H football.