Spanish police have arrested 34 people, including low-ranking players, from a nefarious network that fixed tennis matches in Spain and Portugal, authorities said on Thursday.
The detainees include six tennis players and two ring leaders who allegedly worked together to throw matches in at least 17 sporting events with estimated takings of over half a million euros, the Interior Ministry said.
The ministry did not name those who had been arrested.
All those arrested are Spanish and include six tennis players whose international rankings are between 800 and 1,400 in the world. They were not named.
Players were offered sums of between €500 ($530) and €1,000 to fix matches, a police spokesman told. “Sometimes they promised 500 euros and in the end only paid 50 euros. The players were above all the victims,” the spokesman added.
The probe, which began in 2013, concerns at least 17 tournaments with estimated takings of over half a million euros.
