Day Two Of The English Matchfixing Scandal Court Case

The most interesting aspect to us of the opening day of the trial of Delroy Facey and Moses Swaibu is that, although this alleged corruption is on lower league matches, the structure is in many ways identical to matchfixing in the Premier League.

The only difference is one of scale - the rewards are markedly higher when a five billion pound global betting market is fixed.

Another feature of note is that mechanisms described in court are the mechanisms that we have been banging on about since 2006.
In 2006, some thought us conspiracy theorists...
... now some see us as prescient.
We are neither.
We are just very good data analysts!

Until BBC Radio 4 Six O'Clock News reported the courtcase last evening, the only newspaper covering the case was the Birmingham Mail.
Now most legitimate media are reporting it.
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Updates from Day Two by Matt Lloyd of the Birmingham Mail:

Facey and Swaibu deny an identical charge dating from November 2013 that they conspired to bribe lower league players to throw matches, get booked, give away penalties or score own goals.
Mr Mather will continue his opening of the case throughout the day.
He begins going back to a schedule of contact between those involved in the alleged fixing ring.
He refers to a WhatsApp phone text conversation between Facey and someone called Marv on September 15 2013.
The pair talked about players in Australia involved on alleged match fixing being arrested.
Mr Mather says: "This shows Mr Facey was well aware what match fixing is, well aware match fixing is unlawful and well aware people who committed match fixing are in a degree of trouble."

After the conversation with Marv, there was a nine-minute call between Facey and Ganeshan.
Mr Mather says there might be a suggestion Facey was trying to con the match-fixers himself by taking their cash and not fixing matches, but putting out players who were not footballers.
Mr Mather says that's not what Facey did though.
He said; "The evidence will show what he does is approach footballers and ask them to throw matches.
"He talks to individual players and tried to corrupt them to lose games."
There are messages where Facey says he has a conference team who will "do a game," and that he has six of the players on board.
Mr Mather says: "What does that mean? 'To do a game'?
"The prosecution say it can only mean one thing, rigging a game."

Facey and Ganeshan also discussed a group of players being arrested in Australia over match-fixing allegations.
The pair also discussed money they could make from bets on conference matches Mr Mather says were subject to rigging.
Mr Mather says conversations involving Michael Boateng, also jailed last year for conspiracy to commit bribery, involved discussions about penalties and red cards.
It was suggest a player could make £4,000 for just two hours' work.
Mr Mather says: "Normal people take much longer to make that sort of money.
"It is obvious, the prosecution say, they are talking about the timing of events in matches that are rigged.
"If you know what players are going to do in advance you can make a killing on the betting markets."

Mr Mather says while this conversation didn't involve Swaibu or Facey, it is similar to conversations the pair had elsewhere and shows they took place in the context of match fixing.

The jury are back and Mr Mather continues, still looking at various text conversations that took place within the match-fixing ring over Skype, WhatsApp and via text message.
In one conversation, Joe McArthur, a made-up name used by an investigator, asked Sankaran what conference teams he 'owned' and which matches he could fix towards the end of November 2013.
After that Krishnan Ganeshan contacted Facey telling him to have his boys ready and that if they did what was asked the pair would have big business in the future.
Mr Mather says this is evidence Facey was involved with Sankeran and Ganeshan and planned to be involved in the long-term.
Joe McArthur said to Sankaran that his investor, Eddie, an undercover officer with the National Crime Agency, wanted to meet the players who were due to throw the match.

In a Skype conversation between Facey and somebody called W Raj W, the pair discussed sending players to Finland because there were more betting opportunities there than in the English Conference leagues.
By October 2013, Mr Mather says Facey and Ganeshan were planning to fix a match as a trial with small bets, then when investors saw they could make money, larger sums would be bet on another match.
This, Mr Mather says, is evidence Facey was not involved in a one-off scam against the betting syndicate, but was involved for the long term in match fixing.

When W Raj W said he was broke but had investors to bet on matches, Facey asked him: "Will they do the Welsh League?"
Mr Mather says: "This was not Delroy Facey being led on, this is Facey offering up a league they can do.
"Facey is offering to fix matches in the Welsh league, offering up Port Talbot."
W Raj W, who is not in the dock in this trial, said to Facey that he thought either Bromley FC or Chesterfield had been "on the take" the previous season and that a match might have been rigged, but he didn't think it had.
He asked Facey to check out the team (it's unclear which particular team he was referring to) to see if Facey knew any of the players.

By November 14, 2011, a meeting had been set up between supposed investors and players involved in the alleged match-fixing.
Facey and Ganeshan were talking about the meeting and how the investor was nervous and didn't want to bet money on the first match.
Ganeshan said his man Chann was travelling to the UK and he had an investor - undercover investigator Eddie - in his pocket.
There was talk about "Facey's boys not messing up" otherwise it would ruin their future business.
Facey asked Ganeshan: "After the game I'll get £20,000 for my players?"
Ganeshan explained when he would transfer sums of money later that week.
Contact was then made between Chann Sankaran and Delroy Facey.
In an iMessage, Sankaran says: "Hi, King asked you to contact him urgently on Skype."
Mr Mather says at the same time Facey had a message from W Raj W telling Facey to get in touch.

After a call between Facey and Sankaran, Sankaran immediately contacted Terry Steins, the investigator posing as an investor.
Steins was demanding to see the players involved with the match fixing in order to build trust, says Mr Mather.
That meeting didn't go ahead as players never showed.
Another meeting was set up on November 16.

Ganeshan sent a message to Facey asking what he was doing and saying that things were very bad.
Terry Steins tells Sankaran he has checked the Halifax Town website for the players he's been told are involved in the match fixing, but can't find them.
Sankaran tells him the players are new to the team so don't appear on the website.
Mr Mather says there was a breakdown in trust between Steins and Sankaran because players were never produced.
W Raj W then tells Facey to try and get Hyde FC on board.
Facey says he can get players from Lincoln or Hyde to turn up to a meeting with Sankaran and Steins.
Facey said in a message to W Raj R: "I'll get the boys and your guy sorts me straight away."
Then, in messages between Facey and Sankaran, Facey says he has five players: defenders, midfielders and a striker.
The pair went back and forth about how much the players will cost.
When Sankaran asks if Facey played for Bolton Wanderers, Facey doesn't respond.

On November 20 there were more messages between Facey and Chann Sankaran.
A further meeting was set up for undercover investigator Terry Steins to meet players at the Marriott Victoria & Albert Hotel in Manchester.
Mr Mather now refers to a WhatsApp phone exchange between Facey and Hyde player Scott Spencer.
They talk about Hyde's problems and the fact players are paid different amounts.
Mr Mather says at first the conversation is normal between two footballers.
But after Spencer says they are losing week in, week out, Facey says: "You lot should make some money out of this lad, easy money."
When Spencer asks how, Facey says he has friends who bet on matches and in a game with four goals, two in each half, players could make £4,000.
Facey goes on: "Have a word with some of the lads you trust. If you can get four or five we can do Saturday's game."
Spencer replied: "Sweet."
Mr Mather says the only interpretation of this exchange is that Facey was trying to bribe Spencer to fix a match involving Hyde.

After speaking to Moses Swaibu on the phone, Facey receives a message from Swaibu with the names of the teams Whitehawk, Bromley and Staines.
Facey sends those to Sankaran and asks of those teams are okay.
When he is told they are okay, Facey sent a WhatsApp message to Swaibu saying: "They are in, bro, for Sat's game."
Mr Mather says Scott Spencer is aware of what Facey is asking him to do and gets out of it.
He messages Facey to say Hyde have got a psychologist in and the team are going for the win.
Mr Mather says: "The prosecution do not suggest Scott Spencer has ever been involved in match fixing."

Facey then messages Swaibu to say needs five players and the money is there waiting for them.
By November 22, the National Crime Agency had taken over the investigation and placed bugs in a Manchester hotel room.
Mr Mather says a conversation was recorded but only one side of it.
It was a conversation with someone called Delroy.
"There is only one Delroy," Mr Mather tells the court. "Delroy Facey."
In that conversation Ganeshan is heard telling Delroy that he needs Bromley to lose 3-0, no more and no less.

We will provide collated updates on this trial from time to time...