Singapore on Thursday revoked citizenship of a 43-year-old man for his involvement in match-fixing activities.
The man is Mali-born Gaye Alassane, a former S-League player, according to media reports.
The man obtained Singapore citizenship by registration in 2003 through the Family Ties Scheme.
"At the point of his Singapore citizenship application, there was no information to suggest that he was involved in any criminal activities," the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a statement.
However, as a Singapore citizen, he became an active and trusted member of an international match-fixing syndicate which was created in and took root in Singapore.
"The individual and his syndicate members used Singapore as a hub to conduct major global match-fixing activities," MHA said.
While a Singapore citizen, the individual conspired with his syndicate members to fix football matches in various countries through corruption of officials and players.
He also entertained and cultivated relationships with foreign nationals in Singapore to draw them into his syndicate's match-fixing activities, according to the MHA.
Given the seriousness of the individual's actions, the Minister for Home Affairs intends to deprive him of his citizenship.
The individual may apply for his case to be referred to a Citizenship Committee of Inquiry within 21 days of the date of receipt of the Notice of Proposed Deprivation.
This is not the first time a Singaporean will have his citizenship revoked. MHA said there have been previous cases of other Singaporeans – who became citizens by registration or naturalisation – who had their citizenships revoked over criminal activities.
