Asiagate probe attracts international interest

international interest with a Singapore publication revealing that the case was being closely followed in the Asian country.
A four-man Zifa probe team led by the association’s vice-president Ndumiso Gumede produced a 162-page report at the end of their Asiagate probe and fingered jailed Singaporean international Wilson Raj Perumal and former Zifa chief executive Henrietta Rushwaya as the masterminds behind the Warriors trips to the Far East where the national team was allegedly paid to fix their matches.

Perumal has since been jailed in Finland for two years on allegations of match fixing and betting while Zifa on Monday launched the final phase of their Asiagate probe by naming a seven-member independent ethics committee that will be chaired by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Ahmed Ebrahim and includes eminent football administrators and lawyers, who will conduct hearings with the implicated players and officials and recommend to Zifa the kind of sanctions to hand to those found guilty.
However a Singapore publication the New Paper has been keenly following events in Asiagate with their correspondent Zaihan Mohamed Yusof this week writing to Zifa president Cuthbert Dube indicating that they were keeping tabs on the developments related to the probe.

Yusof also told the Zifa president that Perumal, who had largely remained tight-lipped on his dealings in the match-fixing and betting syndicates that also affected West African nation Togo, had now begun opening up from his prison cell in Finland.
Dube said Yusof had posed a number of questions that highlighted the fact that the New Paper was following events in Zimbabwe from Singapore.

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Interestingly, Singapore is one of the countries that the Warriors played in during their controversial matches in Asia. Yusof also indicated in his communication to Dube that he had been following on and reporting on a match-fixing and betting syndicate in Singapore for over a year and felt he could also be of use to Zifa, given that Gumede had indicated that resources permitting, his committee would have loved to interview Perumal.

The New Paper journalist also told Dube that Perumal’s interest in the Zimbabwean game had started in 2007.
“For over a year now I have been tracking and reporting on one Singapore-based betting syndicate’s exploits around the world. To date I have written close to 60 stories on the subject.
“The reason I am contacting you or perhaps Zifa is because I don’t really understand what is currently happening in Zimbabwe. I have read a few reports out of Zimbabwe but I just wanted to be sure by contacting Zifa.

“As far as I know Wilson (Perumal) has shown a keen interest in Zimbabwe as far back as 2007. We have pictures of Wilson at a match between Zimbabwe and Indonesia played in Malaysia.
“And when the scandal including Wilson and Henrietta was exposed following the 2009 matches in Malaysia, I was not so much surprised. Wilson admitted to me via letters he has written from the Finnish prison how his syndicate had operated globally.

“He names those who had betrayed him and also the countries and referees under his influence. I can share some of this with you,” wrote Yusof.
In April, Yusof wrote in the New Paper that a Finnish club had named a Singaporean company that wired 300 000 euros to the club as being involved in the Wilson Raj Perumal investigations.

The journalist also wrote that the fixed encounter between Bahrain and Togo had blown the lid on Perumal’s activities after the Asian country thumped the West Africans 5-1.
Suspended Zifa second vice-president Kenny Marange took charge of that match.

Yusof also listed six major questions which he wanted Zifa to answer on including the reason why Gumede’s committee felt that Perumal was so vital to the association’s investigations.
Below are some of the questions Yusof wants addressed:

I read that Mr. Gumede had said that Zifa would like to see Wilson Raj extradited to Zimbabwe to answer charges or at least help in investigations? Has Zifa through the Zimbabwe police made an application to the authorities in Finland for Wilson’s extradition? Why is Wilson Raj so pivotal in investigations? Has there been other Singaporeans who had made attempts to corrupt Zimbabwean players?

In your opinion what are the chances of this happening?

I understand that there are players who are worried that their livelihood in football may be affected pending the outcome of the investigations. How do you balance Zifa’s stance against corruption while at the same time preserving players’ careers?

What are some of the lessons learnt by Zifa from the investigation it has carried out?

If there are things that can be done differently with regards to doing business with foreign match agents what would the new procedures be?”

Dube said they would welcome any vital information that would help Zifa find some answers to some outstanding questions in their quest to clean up the image of the national game.