Berlin, Jul 15: An investigation into suspected football match-fixing now covers 270 matches in several countries and more than 250 people, German prosecutors said today.
Prosecutors in Bochum first announced the investigation last November, saying at the time that about 200 games and 200 people were under suspicion - prompting a UEFA official to say it was probably the biggest match-fixing scandal in Europe.
In today's update, they said that investigations so far have allowed suspicions of match-fixing to be "further substantiated."
They suspect that some euro1.5 million (USD 1.9 million) was paid in bribes to referees, players and others and that profits from manipulated bets amounted to euro7.5 million, according to a statement.
The total value of bets placed on matches that may have been manipulated is believed to be about euro12 million.