‘Lord’s Test betting scam’ man reveals shocking match-fixing-Pak cricket nexus
London:London-based Mazhar Majeed, the alleged man behind a 150,000-pound betting scam that rigged the ongoing Lord’s
Test between England and Pakistan , has confessed that his match-fixing round the world had netted customers millions. A property tycoon Majeed has a 1.8 million
pound home in Surrey , and is a familiar face at cricket grounds around the world.
According to The New of The World, Majeed told their undercover agent that his
syndicate could make “absolutely millions, millions” by paying him up to 450,000
pounds a time for info on matches, then placing bets on the fixed outcome. The
tabloid claims that Majeed had identified Pakistan captain Salman Butt as the
ringleader. The 35-year-old also named wicket keeper Kamran Akmal, and a total
of seven corrupt cricketers, and tried to excuse the players’ shameful behavior,
claiming: “These poor boys need to. They’re paid peanuts.” “I manage ten of the
players. I do all their affairs like contracts, sponsorship, marketing, everything.
I work very closely with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB),” Majeed added. Majeed
further said that he had even opened Swiss bank accounts for them to hide their
ill-gotten gains. He also boasted how it was the players who got him into match-fixing.
“They were the ones who actually approached me about this. This is the beauty
of it. I was friends with them for four, five years and then they said this happens.
I said really?” Majeed said. However, he admitted that match-fixing had ‘toned
down a lot’. “They’ve made it very, very difficult. These guys won’t deal with
just anybody. The only reason they’ll deal with me is because they know I’m professional,
they’ve known me for years,” Majeed said. “I’ve been doing it with them, the Pakistani
team, for about 2½ years. And we’ve made masses and masses of money,” he added.
Meanwhile, following the revelation, Scotland Yard officers visited Lord’s and
the Pakistan players’ London hotel. Police are set to speak to the players today.
“Following information from the News of the World we have today arrested a 35-year-old
man on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud bookmakers,” a Scotland Yard spokesman
said.
