London, Aug. 29: The bookie arrested by Scotland Yard for alleged “spot-fixing” in the ongoing England-Pakistan Lord’s Test claims to have links with bookmakers in India as well.
Mazhar Majeed, 35, told an undercover reporter of The News of the World during a sting operation that there are no major activities when the “Indian market is not open”.
Pakistan captain Salman Butt, pace duo of Muhammad Asif and Muhammad Aamir and four other players were questioned by the Scotland Yard detectives after the bookie, in the video of the sting operation, claimed that the team bowled no balls for money during the match.
In the the same recording, Majeed claims to know bookmakers in India as well. “....in terms of results, depending on who we are playing, sometimes it can be £300,000. The max it can be is £450,000. You can speak to any bookie in India and they will tell you about this information and how much they'll pay. If you had the information and they knew that it was coming from the source they'd pay you that money themselves,” he is quoted as saying.
“I deal with an Indian party. They pay me for the information.” In one conversation, the tabloid reported that “to hammer home the amounts of money our man could win, Majeed called an Indian bookie and asked him how much he would pay for the result. Majeed demanded 1.2 million dollars but the bookie replied, ‘I’ll give you one (million)’.”