Tennis-Playing Brothers Face Bans, $300k Fines for Match-Fixing

  • Karen Khachatryan was banned for life and must pay $250,000 in fines
  • Brother Yuri Khachatryan earned a ten-year ban and a $50,000 fine
  • The brothers were found guilty of several charges involving match-fixing from 2017-2019
  • Youssef Hossam was banned for life earlier in the year for 21 separate offenses
Tennis ball and racquet on a court
Bulgarian brothers Karen and Yuri Khachatryan have been banned from tennis after an investigation by the Tennis Integrity Unit found them to have engaged in match-fixing. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

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 Tennis Integrity Unit also accused Karen of repeatedly failing to cooperate with the investigation. The ban prohibits Karen from taking part in or attending any sanctioned tennis event. Officials suspended him from the sport back in June 2019 when alleged corrupt activity concerns went public.

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.

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