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that reduced Zimbabwe’s Warriors to punching bags and triggered a sensational downfall of the Warriors on the Fifa rankings has been arrested.
Perumal was, according to reports from Finland, nabbed in Helsinki on Thursday morning.
The 45-year-old bookie and “kelong king”, who has been accused of fixing football matches in several countries had been on the run from the law since last July.
After The New Paper broke the news of his arrest yesterday, the sentiment among some people who know him was: “Wilson Raj” reckoned that “he had it coming”.
Raj’s arrest will also be keenly followed by Zifa after the Singaporean was fingered in the Warriors Asiagate scam that later cost Henrietta Rushwaya and Jonathan Musavengana’s their jobs as the association’s chief executive and programmes officer respectively.
Raj was also investigated by Zifa for match-fixing and for allegedly taking Monomotapa to Malaysia in 2009 and passed their players off as the national team.
The Singaporean could allegedly make up to US$700 000 on a fixed match where he would have to bribe players and even referees, said a source.
Some Warriors players confessed before a Zifa probe team that they often met a man on their Asian tours who would organise payments for them to lose matches.
After completing the first part of their probe, Zifa are now working on the second and final phase of the Asiagate scandal amid revelations by Fifa secretary-general Jerome Valcke that the world body also wants some players who willfully took bribes to throw away games to be banned.
Malawian football consultant Felix Sapao also claimed in an interview with the Zifa probe team that Raj had also approached him with a view to getting the Flames involved in the match-fixing scams.
Sapao told Zifa vice-president Ndumiso Gumede and board member competitions Benedict Moyo that said Raj had acknowledged knowing local football agent Kudzi Shaba and Rushwaya.
Shaba is also listed as one of Raj’s friends on facebook.
His criminal history dates back to 1983 and includes convictions for forgery, house-breaking, theft and match-fixing. But on Thursday the law caught up with him again after he was nabbed in Finland.
Two people who claimed to be his friends believe that he was “sold out” because of his arrogance. One of them, a man in his 40s who did not want to be named, said: “When you’re hiding from the law, you shouldn’t be showing off your pictures on Facebook or calling friends to tell them what a good time you’re having.
“He did all that.”
Wilson Raj made enemies by upsetting people, some of whom had lent him money, added the friend.
It is believed that he had borrowed large sums of money for his match-fixing operations.
This friend,who was the first to alert the newspaper about Wilson Raj’s arrest, said: “When you promise to pay but you don’t, of course your lenders get angry.
“These are heavy-hitters (the lenders) who can easily make life difficult for you.”
Wilson Raj’s Facebook page has pictures uploaded last December of him presumably at football matches.
There’s even a picture of him with Ghanaian Chelsea player Michael Essien.
He also posted holiday photos of himself in countries like Chile and South Africa. Some people also felt that it was outrageous of Wilson Raj to give press interviews via e-mails and phone calls while he was on the run.
After he was accused to be the man behind a match between the Bahrain national team and a fake Togo team last September, he gave interviews to the European media and The Wall Street Journal to defend himself.
He also called The New Paper to give his side of the story, using a mobile phone believed to have been registered in San Salvador.
Wilson Raj’s “you can’t touch me” attitude made those who had done business with him nervous, the friend told The New Paper on Sunday.
He said: “this business of match-fixing, a person becomes a liability if he talks too much.”
This, plus the fact that he liked to “roll” his loans instead of repaying them probably led to his downfall.
The man added: “The problem with him is that he loves football and gambling.
“When his creditors heard about him winning money on his football bets, they would definitely want their money back,” the friend said.
“But what does he do? He sets up another game . . . And he doesn’t win all the time. So his enemies waited for their chance for payback.”
Finding out where he was wasn’t difficult, said those who know the illegal bookie business. To get financial backing, Wilson Raj would have to send out feelers to trusted people giving details on where he would fix a match next.
According to the reports, the evidence at hand seems to suggest that he was indeed betrayed. His latest location, which was known only to his inner circle of friends and a select few other people, was leaked to the Finnish authorities.
Lapland Chief Inspector Jan Fordell told local newspaper Helsingin Sanomat that the authorities received a tip-off that Wilson Raj was in Finland. He added that “from the information we have received and photograph comparisons, there is strong reason to suspect” that the person arrested was Wilson Raj.
The suspect was carrying what is believed to be a fake Singapore passport bearing the name of Rajamorgan Chelliah, a name that Wilson Raj is known to travel under. Some insiders in Singapore said he was there to “suss out” some football players.
A Finnish source, however, said the authorities there are not investigating Wilson Raj for match-fixing, but for his alleged immigration offences.
“The Finnish authorities will be looking to Singapore for help on this,” said Fordell.
“We will be contacting and seeking cooperation from the Singapore authorities as soon as possible.”
Whether Wilson Raj will be returned to Singapore is still unclear, lawyers told The New Paper on Sunday.
Said lawyer Chia Boon Teck: “He would be brought back to Singapore to face the law only if Singapore has an extradition treaty with Finland. If there isn’t one, getting him to Singapore would not be so easy.”
Wilson Raj may have consciously chosen to operate in countries which do not have extradition treaties with Singapore, said lawyer S Balamurugan.
He said: “Whether or not this is his strategy, he would still have to face the Finland court for immigration offences. What happens next will depend on the Finland and Singapore authorities working together.”
At least one person is relieved that Wilson Raj could be coming back to Singapore.
A friend, who gave his name only as Rajen, said that he could then at least straighten out his life.
Rajen, who’s in his 40s and self-employed, had called on Friday with a tip-off of Wilson Raj’s arrest.
He said: “Only when he returns home and serves his time can he truly lead a real life.”
“Kelong King” is linked to fixed football matches in several countries
A team masquerading as the Togo national team played Bahrain on Sept 7 last year and lost 3-0.
A Bahrain Football Association official told The New Paper that Wilson Raj had arranged the match.
An uproar in the Bahrain and Togolese Football Associations ended with some Togolese officials being disciplined and sacked.