Convicted of corruption
Karen and Yuri Khachatryan, two brothers from Bulgaria, were recently banned from the sport of tennis and must pay fines for match-fixing. The brothers were convicted of several offenses and must collectively pay $300,000 in fines.
breached several sections of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program
The Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) investigated the Khachatryans from 2017 to 2019 and found that 26-year-old Karen had breached several sections of the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program. Because of the number of offenses, Karen faces a $250,000 fine. Yuri must pay a $50,000 fine for lesser offenses.
Big fines for match-fixing
Along with fines, officials decided to ban the two players. The TIU issued a lifetime ban to Karen for the multiple corruption offenses, including five cases of match-fixing and nine cases of soliciting other players to throw a match. Yuri was banned for ten years.
The investigation revealed that Yuri had also broken the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program rules by approaching a fellow player in a corrupt manner and delaying compliance with the demands of the TIU to provide information regarding the investigation. Officials said that Yuri gave false information to investigators.
Yuri also wagered on tennis matches and facilitated gambling for others on matches.
Suspicious match activity earlier this year
The TIU has been busy this year investigating incidents related to game integrity. Back in July, details surfaced regarding 24 suspicious matches that took place from April to June.
Betting companies that track unusual patterns in gambling filed the alerts. The TIU did not give specific details on which events or matches triggered the alert.
In a statement at the time, the TIU said that suspicious betting during the COVID-19 lockdown is an indicator that corruption is still active. The group planned to focus on the sport when professional matches resumed in August.
Earlier in the year, officials banned another professional tennis player. In May, the TIU handed down a lifetime ban to Youssef Hossam, a tennis player from Egypt. He was found guilty of match-fixing on several occasions.
The investigation revealed that the 21-year-old committed 21 different breaches of the anti-corruption rules. The offenses took place from 2015 through 2019.