(By Daven Morrison) In the 1960s in my hometown of Chicago, protestors chanted “the whole world is watching”. They brought attention to the fact that what had been done by the police relatively invisibly was now exposed to not only the local Chicago news but the entire world. What had been previously dismissed and hidden was now exposed. What had been covered up was no accessible for all to see.

Last week, the World Cup began with a defeat of Croatia by the host country Brazil. It was not their best game, yet Brazil won handily 3-1. It was what the world expected and did not surprise anyone. Unfortunately, this might not be the whole story. On television, the commentators felt passionately that two calls hurt the Croatians, one leading to a penalty kick, another calling back an easy goal. This would have made the final score 2-1 in favor of the Croatians. For this to happen would have to include the collaboration of the referee and his team of officials. It would likely mean others were also involved. Is that possible?
Is what we see real?
Unfortunately it is quite possible and has happened. In a recent long form article in the New York Times, investigations uncovered how easy it was to not only swap out referees who were paid off, but also to influence the teams that lost to be silent about it. In an opening match, with relatively superficial investigative techniques and fairly easily “turned” informants, it was discovered that a large part of the power behind the illegally fixed matches came from wealthy individuals. And in several situations these were not one person but rather they were coordinated by Asian betting syndicates.

The syndicates are able to move easily through this world because many nations are very poor and willing to look the other way for financial reward. This is also true of the referees, the ones who are expected to enforce the rules objectively and consistently. And to do so with both teams.

Yet worst of all, was the intimidation of those regulating the game. Overseers of the referees were clearly able to stave off some fixed matches, but in the end the powerful forces behind the money were most problematic. Although there is no evidence that the regulators were victims of bribes, it was clear that that they were influenced by blackmail – many felt for their personal safety or that of their families. Behind it all was the dark shadow of FIFA which investigated late, stalled some investigations and shut others down.
So what, it’s only a game!
For those of us who investigate the human dynamics of fraud, there are several important factors playing out on a world stage currently that remind us of the perennial challenges of halting fraud:

• When we are excited about an event we can miss cues that tip us off to fraud.
• Large amounts of money can be leveraged to corrupt many in a system in small amounts to the big picture, but large to the individuals.
• Money can mean more than greed for those who are desperate; it can mean affording the basics of health care or living (food, shelter).
• When police are hired by the criminals and the regulators are intimidated, all bets are off. Literally. Or they should be.