Israeli police on Monday arrested 17 members of a soccer team on suspicion of match-fixing, bribery, illegal gambling, and money laundering, following a months-long undercover investigation.
According to the Israel Police, the probe, conducted in conjunction with the Israel Football Association, focused on alleged criminal activity spanning the past three years. Dozens of officers raided the suspects’ homes early Monday and brought them in for questioning.
Police did not specify the team, but Israeli media identified it as F.C. Kiryat Yam, which plays near Haifa.
Police said those arrested include active players and senior club officials, all suspected of ties to a criminal organization that allegedly exploited the team to manipulate match results and profit from illegal betting in Israel and abroad.
Profiting from illegal gambling
“The criminal organization used the team as a platform to commit criminal offenses, including suspicion of skewing results, buying and selling games for the purpose of profiting from illegal gambling, and suspicions of double contracts,” police said.
Investigators allege that matches were deliberately bought or sold and then used to place bets with outcomes already known in advance. “After it was possible to know the outcome of the bet, the bets were made with the outcome already known,” the police stressed.
Police estimate that tens of millions of shekels were funneled through the scheme.