A Singaporean businessman, detained for more than two years under suspicion for his instrumental involvement in global football match-fixing is to be released, after the court of appeal found he was being held unlawfully.
Tan Seet Eng, known by the English nickname Dan Tan, was jailed in October 2013 by Italian prosecutors after he was accused of coordinating a global crime syndicate that predominantly rigged matches in Italy and other countries across the world.
Singaporean law mandated Tan was to be held for an indefinite period without trial in the interest of public safety.
However, Judge Sundaresh Menon said while Tan's behaviour was "reprehensible and should not be condoned", there was "nothing to suggest they could have a bearing on the public safety, peace and good order".
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), who accused Tan of match-fixing, later released a statement saying: "We will carefully consider what needs to be done in the current situation.
"The Ministry of Home Affairs will study the judgement carefully and assess further steps."
Tan was arrested along with 13 others in September 2013 in a move that Interpol – an intergovernmental crime organisation – hailed as a major breakthrough in the battle against corruption in football.
The 51-year-old was suspected of being the mastermind behind fixed matches in Italy’s Serie A and Serie B in 2011. He is also being tried in a Hungarian court for allegedly manipulating 32 games in Hungary, Italy and Finland.
Tan denies any wrongdoing.
