Kelong Kings: Confessions of the world's most prolific match-fixer (21 page)

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.