Kelong Kings: Confessions of the world's most prolific match-fixer Read online

  After the run-in with the CPIB, Mega and I decided to back off from Sporting Afrique and drifted apart; but our fixes had not gone unnoticed in the match-fixing market. I was soon approached by some old acquaintances: Thana and Yap; they were accompanied by a runner from Melaka named Kelvin. The three were working for a Chinese-Malaysian boss from Melaka whose identity they would not reveal to me. Thana told me that he and Yap had looked for me in early 2006 because they wanted me to fix some 2006 World Cup matches in Germany for them. I told Thana that I had spent the past three and a half years in prison.

  "We went to the World Cup", Thana explained. "We were looking for you high and low but couldn't find you. We fixed a match with Ghana but it didn't materialize; well, actually only the first half did".

  Thana was referring to Ghana vs Brazil, played during the 2006 World Cup in Germany. They had approached Ghana through a guy called Abukari. Abukari had played in the Malaysian club Perak FA and was the Ghana national team goalkeeper's coach. Abukari was later sacked by the local FA for fixing a friendly match between them and Iran. Thana and Yap had been informed by Abukari that the national team which was traveling to Iran was made up mostly of Under-21 players. Thana and Yap had managed to approach and bribe a few of them to get trashed 4-2 by Iran.

  "Do you have anything going on right now?" Thana asked.

  "What do you want to do?" I inquired.

  "Do you have anything in Singapore?"

  I thought about the warning that I had received from the CPIB but the chance to find a new boss was too good to pass.

  "I have one match that we can do, I think".

  Gombak United FC was set to play the Singapore Armed Forces FC. I called Obi to coordinate things and arrange a meeting with the Gombak players. Obi played in Sporting Afrique but knew a number of other African players in the league. We managed to win four players and the referee to our side. Thana gave me 20 thousand dollars in cash that I was supposed to wager at the Singapore Pools in the event that their boss couldn't find another, more lucrative way to throw his bets. At that time, Mega and I had no knowledge that bets on S-League matches could be wagered on websites so we gambled at the Singapore Pools. We could fix matches but our betting network was not up to the mark; we were still like a frog in the well.

  "If we give you the green light", Thana explained, "you go and bet for us in Singapore".

  The match was paying four dollars for every one dollar wagered, which meant that ten thousand dollars would have made for a fifty thousand dollar win. Our players went through with the job and we won our bet. I was holding on to the 20 thousand dollars during the match but Thana didn't ask me to use them; his boss placed his wagers elsewhere. I returned the money after the game, then, on the following day, I met one of the Melaka boss's runners and he handed me my cut: 30 thousand Singapore dollars. In Singapore, 30 thousand dollars was pocket money; we had a one thousand dollar banknote and a ten thousand dollar banknote. You could carry five million Singapore dollars, almost four million US dollars, in your pockets at once.

  After our successful run in the S-League, Thana's boss and his syndicate became even more interested in hiring my services. The Merdeka Cup, a tournament held in Malaysia to honor the day of independence, was set to take place in August 2007. A total of eight teams, including the host nation, participated in the Merdeka Cup. The Malaysian FA usually invited southeast Asian teams, including Singapore, and a few teams from other parts of the world to add some flavor to the competition. I planned to invite a couple of complacent national squads to the Merdeka Cup, get their full co-operation before they boarded their flights to Malaysia, then fix their matches. It's a very profitable technique but it does take some funding. It was a scheme that I had seen used during the Merlion Cup in Singapore back in the 80's and 90's. In 1992, for instance, the Singapore FA invited Lokomotiv Moscow to participate in the Merlion Cup and all of Loko's matches were fixed, from the beginning of the tournament all the way to the semi-final, when they were knocked out by China. We knew about Loko's results before their matches even kicked off. My plan was to implement the same scheme in the Merdeka Cup.

  "Look here", I told Thana, "there is the Merdeka Cup tournament in Malaysia coming up in August. I'll need one or two hundred thousand Ringgit to sponsor the Malaysian FA and get into their good books, then I'll need some more money to bring two foreign national teams to Malaysia that can dance to our tune. We'll pay their FAs and bring the guest teams over at our expense".

  "Are you sure that it can be done?" inquired Thana.

  "I can do it", I replied.

  "What do you need?" he asked.

  "This is what I need. I need the money for the Malaysian FA, then I need an additional 40 thousand dollars to travel and speak to the national teams that we want to invite. I'll need to put about ten thousand dollars in the hands of their FA presidents to make sure that they assemble the teams and get things done. When the fixes materialize, you give me 5 percent of the profits from the bets that you place".

  Thana relayed my conditions to his boss then got back to me.

  "OK", he said. "It's a deal".

  I didn't physically go to the Malaysian FA's offices, I just sent them an e-mail saying that I was an agent and that I would cover the expenses for two of the guest national teams participating in the 2007 Merdeka Cup. On top of that, I told them that I would give the Malaysian FA a sponsorship of about 200 thousand Ringgit. I didn't sign the missive with my real name, I used Raja or something like that, although I was still a low-profile guy at the time, not that popular; if you searched my name on the web, nothing would pop up. I followed up with a telephone call, the Malaysian FA agreed, and Thana's boss transferred 200 thousand Ringgit, about 65 thousand US dollars, into the Malaysian FA's bank account. Thana's boss preferred to send the money directly to them because he still didn't trust me enough to let me handle it.

  Having sorted things out with the Malaysian FA, I needed to find two national teams that would be willing to play in the tournament. I knew that African teams were the poorest out there. I had personally fixed Zimbabwe's matches when they had come to Malaysia for the 1997 Dunhill Cup and knew their situation. Since then, Zimbabwe's economy had crashed and their currency had plunged even further. They were without doubt the poorest country around; who else would you want to bribe? Zimbabwe was definitely the best party to speak to. I called Thana and informed him.

  "Look, we can bring Zimbabwe", I proposed. "They already played in Malaysia in 1997. Let's invite them again".

  My second team was going to be Lesotho, which was geographically close to Zimbabwe and just as poor.

  In June 2007, just a couple of months ahead of the Merdeka Cup, Thana and I flew to Johannesburg, South Africa. Even though I had traveled to Atlanta with Pal and Uncle, the rest of my fixes had always taken place within the Singapore - Malaysia region. This was the first time that I ventured into Africa. In Johannesburg we were joined by Yap, whom their boss had entrusted with the 40 thousand dollars needed for the upcoming expenses.

  "Why is this fucker here?" I wondered.

  I was thinking of marking up the price of the team's airline tickets to pocket an extra cut and had already shared my idea with Thana.

  "There is the ticket money", I had tempted Thana. "Why don't we mark it up for about 20 thousand dollars".

  Then I saw Yap, and he was carrying the 40 thousand dollars in his bag.

  "Fuck", I thought. "No choice. We'll have to divide by three".

  We had money in our pockets so we didn't have to go to a boarding house or a cheap motel; we checked into the Holiday Inn, Garden Court, in Sandton City, a very nice, posh area near Johannesburg. I didn't really do any sight-seeing, I'll do that when I'm sixty or seventy. Although it was my first trip to South Africa, I spent most of the two days in Sandton walking around the shopping center and preparing myself to speak to the Zimbabwean FA.

  Language is very important: things must be told in the right way so that when you
put everything on the table, people don't back away.

  "OK. That's 50-50-50, three matches, 150 thousand dollars", I ran the presentation over in my head. "Then, if we decide that you proceed to the next round of the tournament, it's another 50 thousand. In total, you'll be making about 200 thousand dollars", I paused. "That's a lot of money".

  In order to convince someone that you've got a plan you need to speak like Robert De Niro. He is one of my favorite actors, as is Morgan Freeman; I like listening to them speak. It's not easy to sound like them; if only I were blessed with the way these guys talk, things would be much simpler. In my next life I wish to have Morgan Freeman's voice.

  During our flight to Harare, Zimbabwe, Thana was tense.

  "Are you sure that this kind of thing can be done?" he kept asking. "It seems like something out of a comic book to me".

  "I can make it happen", I reassured him.

  Deep inside I knew that the Zimbabweans needed money; one hundred US dollars in Zimbabwe was and is a lot of money, and here we were talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars. According to my calculations, I had an 80 percent success rate; I had already fixed with Zimbabwe in 1997 and knew how vulnerable they were, I could almost read their minds.

  As we drove from the airport to town, I thought: "Fuck. This country is backdated".

  Zimbabwe was like Malaysia in the 1970's, rubber trees and all, but the atmosphere was different. By 2007, Singapore and Malaysia were developed countries with tall buildings and skyscrapers but Zimbabwe seemed to have kept its ancient charm even in modern times. The countryside was a place that you could retire to; the rural areas were beautiful. There were many farms and there wasn't much traffic around. When we reached Harare things were much different; the roads were bad and there was a lot of poverty around. I was not surprised; it's what you anticipate when you travel to Africa.

  I showed up at the Zimbabwe FA's offices with only a name-card in my pocket. The card was from World Wide Events and Sports International, the company founded by my former friend Chandar in 2001; Chandar had dissolved the company in 2005, while I was in prison, but then again, who the fuck is going to check once the money is on the table? I'm not a formal person and I don't like wearing ties, but I was nonetheless decently attired. I met the Zimbabwean FA official who introduced himself as Jumbojumbo.

  "Jumbojumbo. This is your name?" I asked.

  "Yeah", he nodded.

  "Your parents gave you this name? Jumbojumbo?"

  We have a pastry in Singapore that we call Jumbo-Jumbo and the name just kept popping up in my head as I looked at him. I tried not to laugh.

  "Mr. Jumbojumbo", I said to him, "I am the promoter of the Merdeka Cup 2007, a tournament held to celebrate the independence of Malaysia. I'm looking for two African countries to invite. Zimbabwe's economic situation is quite bad and I want to give you the opportunity to travel to Malaysia and participate in an international event free of charge. We are talking about an eight-team tournament, a group stage, 4-4, semi-finals and a final. There is no prize money up for grabs and we will not pay you any appearance fee but we will give you 30 tickets to fly to Malaysia and have a good time".

  Then I added, "If you want to make extra money, I also have another idea. You see, as a promoter of the tournament it is my duty to bring the host team to the final. Some teams will have to make way for the Malaysian team. We have a capacity crowd, we've got a decent gate collection, so Malaysia has to make it all the way. If you give me your cooperation, if the whole team cooperates, I will give you 50 thousand dollars per match".

  I took a breather and let the numbers sink into Jumbojumbo's head.

  "I don't know what it is that you will have to do to convince the FA", I murmured to him, "but do whatever is necessary to bring a team. The coach, the players; everybody needs to dance to our tune. We will pay you in cash upon completion of each job, 50 thousand dollars after each game. 50-50-50, three matches, 150 thousand dollars. Then, if we decide that you will qualify for the semi-finals, it's another 50. In total, you'll be making about 200 thousand dollars".

  I paused.

  "That's a lot of money".

  Jumbojumbo was nodding already, I dealt him the final blow.

  "Everything is paid for: tickets, accommodation, extras... And here is ten thousand dollars for you. Take it as a gift on my part. I don't know if you will be able to convince your superiors. If you won't be, then just keep these ten thousand. But if you will, then there will be 200 thousand dollars waiting for you out there in Malaysia".

  Jumbojumbo reached out, took the ten thousand and observed them as he turned the stack over in his trembling fingers.

  "Think about it", I concluded as I made to get up. "I'll give you a call tomorrow".

  The next day, I called Jumbojumbo.

  "We are ready", he exclaimed. "No problem".

  Jumbojumbo had spoken to his superiors and they had agreed so I got the Malaysia FA to write directly to the Zimbabwe FA, inviting them to participate in the Merdeka Cup. The Zimbabweans reciprocated. One football association sends the invitation, the other one reciprocates, that's it, finished. It's the proper protocol, and I always follow procedures. When I arrange an international friendly, I do it by the book, very professionally. Once things are organized, my job is done. I am not a FIFA match agent, I'm just a go-between, I go behind people's backs.

  "Look", I told Jumbojumbo when we met on the next day, "it's not necessary for you to bring the full national team. You can bring some younger players who will listen to you, that's the most important thing. You can appoint a coach that will do as he's told and he'll hand-pick the players that will listen to him, end of story. You must play exactly how we ask you to. We may ask you to win 3-0, or we may ask you to lose 3-0; it depends. Don't you worry, we will not ask your boys to lose by a ridiculous scoreline".

  The Malaysian FA had agreed to provide accommodation for the teams so we just needed to pay for the tickets to fly them in. I began preparing the paperwork for the delegation's passports as soon as I was back in Sandton City, Johannesburg. I went to a local travel agent who made all the necessary arrangements. As agreed, we marked up the price of the airline tickets by 20 thousand and divided the extra among Thana, Yap and myself.

  Zimbabwe was on board, now I needed the second team: Lesotho. I didn't need to physically travel there because somebody from the Zimbabwe FA had provided me with the telephone number of the Lesotho FA. I gave them a call.

  "I have an interesting offer for you", I said. "We would like to invite your national team to the Merdeka Cup in Malaysia. It's an exhibition tournament and there's some money to be made".

  I didn't, of course, go in-depth to explain the details regarding match-fixing; I just scratched the surface.

  The Lesotho FA was also agreeable. The Malaysia FA sent them the invitation and they reciprocated so we got the ball turning. Lesotho also submitted their passport details and I prepared the paperwork for their trip to Malaysia.

  With a week to go before the Merdeka Cup, we grouped the two delegations in South Africa. The Zimbabwe and Lesotho teams met up in Johannesburg and were then flown to Singapore. Waiting for them, as they climbed out of their airplane, were two of Thana's runners and myself. We didn't want the teams to go to Kuala Lumpur straight away because we planned to put the time left before the start of the Merdeka Cup to good use. We loaded the two delegations on a coach and sent them over to Johor Bahru, Malaysia, where we housed them for a week in the Grand Bluewave Hotel. During the course of the week we arranged two friendly matches against local clubs; just a side dish. Thana's guys were all over the players buying them mobile phones, football boots, jerseys, shorts and other gifts. The players were like children walking into a candy store; Thana really put them on a shopping spree.

  "Take what you want", he kept repeating with a smile, "but just give us the result".

  The senior officials from the two delegations, with Jumbojumbo in the forefront, spent a week's holiday abu
sing booze, women and massages. I had brought the teams over, the boys were happy, everybody was happy; we had given them what they wanted. We had gratified them physically and they were ready to deliver.

  "Listen", I told the Zimbabwean players before their first match in the cup, "this game has got no value: it's not a World Cup qualifier; it's not an Olympic qualifier; nobody is going to remember you for winning this match or this tournament. Win or lose, you are not going to go anywhere. But if you do as I say there are 40 thousand US dollars for you players to share".

  40 thousand dollars went to the players. I knew these African fuckers, senior officials like Jumbojumbo; they were all crooks. You gave them 40 thousand dollars for the players and the money would just disappear. I took Jumbojumbo to the side and spoke to him.

  "It's company policy that the money be distributed in my presence", I explained. "If it isn't, I lose my job; and I cannot afford to lose my job. The money is inside these envelopes, the head of the delegation will be given the envelopes one by one and he will pass them on to the players in front of me".

  "This is your company policy", complained Jumbojumbo. "But we have our own policy. The players get only 20 percent, the officials get 80 percent".

  Jumbojumbo policy.

  "No, Jumbojumbo", I said. "That cannot be done. There is no way that you can apply your policy to my deal".

  Finally, each player received his cut and the heads of delegation had no way to embezzle the money before it reached the footballers. I gathered the players, envelopes in hand, around me.

  "In return for this money", I said, "you guys give me what I want on the pitch".

  After that, Thana's boss and his guys took over and my role was minimized because they wanted to have direct control over the team. Thana told me that I would receive my cut at the end of the tournament.