Unraveling financial fraud in Belgian football: A crime scripting analysis

• In Event: WG-PLACE 1: Crime Scripting

Abstract

Our study provides an overview of the modus operandi used in one of the largest financial fraud cases in Belgian football, known as the Zheyun Ye case. The case consists of two distinct types of fraud in sports: match-fixing and financial fraud. In this presentation we focus on financial fraud, by shedding light on the modus operandi used by the fraudsters in this case to commit financial fraud through the football sector. To do so, we conducted a crime scripting analysis, using the judgments rendered by the court of first instance and the court of appeal. Furthermore, we conducted qualitative interviews (n=7) with law enforcement key informants and professionals within the football milieu to triangulate the data of the court files and gain deeper understanding of the case. By doing so, we lay down the basis for two different crime scripts of financial fraud through football: one focusing on money laundering and another on tax fraud. Based on our findings, we conclude that during the time of the Zheyun Ye case, certain conditions distinctive to the football landscape were major contributors to these criminal activities. Moreover, the case in question holds an important warning, because of the hypothesis that the same modus operandi is still used in contemporary financial crime related to betting related match-fixing. Not only within the domain of football but also across the broader spectrum of sporting activities today.

Authors

• Rein Lionel Struyve, Ghent University

• Lucie Vanwersch, Ghent University

• Wim Hardyns, Ghent University