A player agent and a footballer have been taken into custody, suspected of attempting to fix the outcome of three Hungarian football matches in 2009, prosecutors said Wednesday.
A statement from the Chief Investigative Prosecutor's Office said a licensed agent identified as Zsolt K. made payments totaling ?19,000 ($25,650) to three Siofok FC players, including Gabor H., to influence the results of two top-division matches.
There was also an agreement to fix a Hungarian Cup match but that deal was later canceled.
Spokesman Geza Fazekas said that Gabor H., already a suspect in the investigation, was placed under one month's preliminary arrest. A decision whether to do the same with the agent will be made Friday.
In June, three former players and four referees were detained as a result of the match-fixing probe launched by prosecutors and the National Investigation Office. Six suspects remain under preliminary arrest.
So far, authorities have identified 11 matches, including two from the top Finnish league, which may have been fixed.
The Hungarian branch of a global match-fixing syndicate is believed to have collected as much as ?600,000 ($810,000) a game in successful bets.
Similar investigations are being carried out in other European countries and more suspects and fraudulent matches could be revealed before the Hungarian probe's deadline of Feb. 22, 2012, prosecutors said.
