The sport world provides fertile ground for corruption and financial crime; seldom investigation, prosecution and sanctions, which are especially complex in the case of transborder crimes, make these low-risk and high-reward activities for criminals.
The Network of Magistrates / Prosecutors Responsible for Sports (MARS Network) was set up under the authority of the Council of Europe’s Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS) to strengthen international co-operation and exchange of information in the field of sport justice.
The MARS Network held its third annual meeting on 18 and 19 June 2024 in Lyon, France at the Interpol General Secretariat. The first day of the meeting revolved around money laundering, with focus sessions on betting, multi-club ownership and sport agents. These are all channels through which money launderers operate to make their crimes more difficult to detect and prosecute, which is why they represent some of the current most relevant threats to sport integrity.
During the second day of the meeting, the MARS Network members presented their national systems of investigation and prosecution of crimes against sport integrity, shared best practices and held exchanges on different topics, including how to strengthen co-operation opportunities within and outside the Network. Three focus sessions allowed members to discuss the manipulation of sports competitions, anti-doping, and “safety, security and service” at sport events. The Database on Alleged Cases of Corruption in Sport (DACCS), managed by EPAS in collaboration with the University of Lausanne (Switzerland), and the HELP course on human rights in sport were also presented.
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