Huge corruption scandal leads to 14 arrests with 40 tournaments affected by match fixing

A huge scandal has arisen in the tennis world, with 40 lower-tier tennis tournaments having been surrounded with match-fixing accusations which has racked up over €800,000 for the perpetrators. So far, 14 suspects have been arrested.

The investigation commenced back in December 2023, where betting patterns caught the eye of France's National Gaming Authority and Française des Jeux. This was specifically in a double's matchup in a third-division event in Rodez. From this, more events were closely monitored.

They made their money by asking players to throw sets and matches, as they cash in on their winnings from planned bets made on the fixtures. Arrests were made in France, Spain, Bulgaria, and Romania on the 20th October, completed by French authorities in Marseille while being backed up by Eurojust. Five of these suspects were arrested in France, but later released. They were charged with organised fraud, sports corruption and participation in a criminal conspiracy. While let free, they have been banned from any contact with tennis-related activities.

The French suspects role in this was to create fake accounts on offshore betting platforms. Third parties were utilised to place the bet on what had been agreed and planned to occur with the tennis players. While the match was thrown, the bookmakers paid out handsomely. "More than €800,000 in winnings have been identified to date, with the acts committed by an organized gang," said the Marseille prosecutor's office in a press release.

The operation was headed in Bulgaria, with four former tennis players among the criminal network who were fixing these matches. Siblings Karen and Juri Khachatryan, Dilyan Yanev and Anzhel Yanev were all a part of the group of 25-31 year-olds who were arrested. They will now face charges for cross-border money laundering and corruption in sports competitions.

The gang targeted Challenger and Futures events. These are the second and third tiers of professional tennis, as players look to rise up the ranks to be competing with the best in the world. It is a tricky and brutal for many, with financial woes coming with travel, accommodation and coaches all needing to be paid as funding rapidly decreases. While some get lucky and make it, others cannot, which leads to tempting offers. "They suggested I lose a set. It was too tempting considering my problems," said a player reporting to investigators. Between 2018-2024, corruption was occurring through some of these events, with countries such as France, Germany, Bulgaria, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Turkey, Canada, the United States, Mexico, Egypt and Tunisia hosting tournaments that were affected by this.

A judicial enquiry is now ongoing with digital evidence currently being analysed as law enforcements attempt to get to the bottom of this case which has casted a dark cloud over tennis, once again disclosing how tempting and luxurious this route is for players who struggle to make a living on the circuit. Currently, administrative suspensions have been handed out to three French players, with a fourth sanctioned for not reporting the attempted corruption.

This is just another example of the corruption going on in tennis, with matches being fixed and players abiding. While this case has recently been brought up, this is not the first time stuff like this has occurred, with the Khachatryan having previous run-ins with the law. The International Tennis Agency sanctioned the pair back in 2020 for similar consequences. Karen was givel a lifetime ban and $250,000 fine for five cases of match fixing and nine cases of encouraging players to lose, while his brother was given a 10-year ban and $50,000 fine for attempting to get players to rig matches and facilitating others to bet on tennis. With the pair once again involved in a huge corruption scandal, it shows the dark side to tennis. As investigators continue to delve deeper into the situation, more arrests and new information may be exposed.