Roll up match fixers for you have the chance of a lifetime. One European country reportedly has no provision for the prosecution of your activities under their law. A spokesperson for the Bulgarian chief prosecutor is reporting just this and it comes just days after FIFA outlined a worldwide crackdown on the practice with heavy penalties put in place.
Focus Information Agency reports that, according to spokeswoman Steliyana Kozhuharova, under Bulgarian Criminal Code, match fixing is not a crime. It came during a briefing in relation to a recent police operation against a network of illegal online bookmakers in the country.
“No match-fixing charges can be pressed in Bulgaria, because there is not such a crime. It could be linked with frauds or money laundering and these are other crimes, but match fixing is not a crime in Bulgaria,” she said, speaking on behalf of the country’s chief prosecutor Boris Velchev.
Speaking at the same news briefing, the prosecutor in the Supreme Cassation Prosecutor’s Office Nikolay Georgiev, said that a bill had been tabled on March 31 that would make match or game fixing a crime. A working group consisting of the Bulgarian Football Union, Interior Ministry, Gambling Commission and Prosecutor’s Office are discussing the issue of fixing and seeking solutions.
The fact that a European country is openly reporting this to be the case will be bad news for sporting authorities looking to eradicate match fixing. Eastern Europe has regularly been cited as one area that suffers from fixing and with no criminal system in place in Bulgaria it’s hardly surprising that match fixing has been prevalent in this part of the world.
