Bosnian man to be extradited to Belgium

Cyprus police arrested a foreign national on Wednesday as part of a secret international operation against fraud and match-fixing in European football.

A 52-year-old man reportedly from Bosnia and a permanent resident in Cyprus was detained by police on charges of fraud, document forgery, tax evasion, and illegal gain.

Officers raided four locations in Nicosia and Famagusta districts, three offices and a residence, where they confiscated four desktop computers, two laptops, two tablets, and a large volume of documents.

The alleged crimes were committed mostly in Belgium but also in Cyprus, as well as other European countries.

The suspect’s identity has not been made public officially while he is reportedly in the process of being extradited to Belgium, where over a dozen similar raids were conducted. Arrests took place in a number of other countries simultaneously, which caught suspects and the media by surprise.

A sweeping operation resulted in the detention of several football club managers and staff, team support staff and referees as part of a criminal enterprise.