France Just Gave Match-Fixers the Mafia Treatment (Free Article)
A new law in France sees match-fixing cases now investigated by specialized criminal courts, with culprits punishable with a decade in prison and millions in fines.
Match-fixers in France now face being tried with the same severity and consequences as drug cartels and human traffickers. a
In June, France adopted a law that ranked the manipulation of sports competitions at the same level as organized crime in the French Code of Criminal Procedure.
This means match-fixing is now treated as a serious organized crime, not a minor infraction.
Why does this matter?
In France, specialized courts known as JIRS are reserved for tackling serious organized crime cases, related to drug cartels, human trafficking rings, and major fraud. This law means they can now take charge of complex sports corruption cases.
Crucially, investigators are also empowered to use special techniques like wiretaps, surveillance, and infiltration that were previously off-limits for sports cases
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