Match fixing: Two business men convicted of trying to fix lower league football matches

South East Asian businessmen found guilty at Birmingham Crown Court

Two businessmen have been convicted of match-fixing. Michael Boateng denies charges against him (EMPICS)

Two Far Eastern businessmen have been convicted of plotting to fix the results of lower league football matches.

A jury at Birmingham Crown Court deliberated for more than 12 hours before finding Chann Sankaran and Krishna Ganeshan guilty of conspiracy to commit bribery.

The jurors, who retired to consider their verdicts last Thursday, cleared former Whitehawk FC footballer Hakeem Adelakun of the same charge.

Sankaran, 33, of Hawthorn Road, Hastings, East Sussex, and Ganeshan, 44, of Hougang Avenue, Singapore, were described during their trial as the "central figures" in efforts to influence the outcome of matches in League Two and the Conference South.

Former Conference South player Adelakun, 23, of Thornton Heath, south London, told the jury he knew nothing at all about any plot to fix matches.

Jurors are still considering verdicts on two other footballers - Moses Swaibu and Michael Boateng, who also played for Brighton-based Whitehawk.

Boateng, 22, of Davidson Road, Croydon, south London, and Swaibu, of Tooley Street, Bermondsey, south London, both deny a single count of conspiracy to offer, promise or give a financial advantage to other persons.

PA