Man admits to match fixing, police raid yields €30,000 in cash

A 21-year-old man from Qormi has been fined €50,000 and given a suspended prison sentence after he admitted to match fixing charges relating to Attard F.C.

Rudgear Scerri appeared in the dock before magistrate Charmaine Galea this morning, accused of involvement in the manipulation of a sporting event, failing to pass on information regarding that manipulation to the Commissioner of Police, taking bets without the requisite licence.

Police inspectors George Frendo and Wayne Rodney Borg told magistrate Galea that Scerri had been arrested after police, acting on a tip-off, had raided the house he was sharing with his girlfriend.Scerri was caught contacting players with bribes.

Searches of his house were carried out and “between €20,000 and €30,000” in cash were discovered, the court was told. Several electronic devices were also seized and were being examined.

A number of suspected accomplices are also being investigated, said the inspectors.

Scerri, who lives in Qormi, pleaded guilty to the charges. The court warned him that he could face a maximum of five years in jail together with a €500,000 fine and gave him time to reconsider.

But Scerri confirmed his guilty plea, assisted by his lawyers Lennox Vella and William Cuschieri.

The court, taking into account his early admission and a clean criminal record on one hand and on the other, the serious crimes which undermined sporting competitivity, sentenced him to two years in prison, suspended for four years, together with a €50,000 fine, payable in monthly instalments, after deducting the value of the cash seized.