All match-fixers are answerable to Dawood Ibrahim, claims top Pak bookie

KARACHI - A Pakistani bookmaker has revealed that most of the bookies involved in match-fixing are ultimately answerable to India’s ‘most wanted man’, Karachi-based underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.

Dawood who is believed to be worth 4 billion pounds, ultimately controls the cricket match-fixing business in Pakistan. His daughter Mahrukh is married to Junaid Miandad, son of former Pakistan captain Javed Miandad.

“If Mazhar Majeed (the London-based agent under investigation for Lord’s Test ’spot-fixing’) is guilty he is just small-fry,” The Mirror quoted Nomi Khan, as saying.

“The rumor is he has been hung out to dry by one of the big syndicates that operate here and in India,” he added.

Khan also revealed that about 20 percent of the regular punters already know the outcome when they place their stake.

“The players’ body language is the key sign,” Khan said.

He also admitted that his biggest gamblers collectively often earn up to half a million pounds on apparently long odds.

Talking about his life, Khan said that he has been in the business for the past five years, and earns about 270,000 pounds a year.

The sum is staggering when compared to the country’s average earnings of 100 to 200 pounds a month.

“I rent out a separate flat for my business because it is totally illegal. I have seven people in a room on phones all the time. When people say they will pay up over the phone this is a contract,” Khan said.

“The reason I’ve managed to do so well here in Pakistan is that people will bet on anything in cricket. Cricket is the perfect sport, much more than football, because there are so many aspects of the match you can give odds on,” he added. (ANI)