Status of police probe into Brownlow betting corruption allegations revealed
Police have given an update on the status of their investigation into corruption allegations surrounding an umpire and betting on the Brownlow Medal.
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It is unclear when or whether charges will be laid over a probe into Brownlow Medal corruption allegations which stretch back three years.
AFL field umpire Michael Pell was in 2022 entangled in the inquiry, which centred on bets related to alleged Brownlow voting leaks from games where he officiated.
Pell, then 32, was arrested in November of that year by detectives from the Victoria Police sporting intelligence integrity unit.
The investigation is believed to have been running for months prior to the arrest and has ultimately looked into Brownlow betting activity from as far back as 2021.
Victoria Police said this week the probe was still running.
“The investigation by the sporting integrity intelligence unit into suspicious betting activity linked to the 2021 and 2022 Brownlow Medal award remains active. As the investigation remains ongoing, we will not be commenting further at this time.”
Spot bets placed on round-by-round voting have been previously revealed as the focus of the probe.
Three other men were arrested as part of the SIIU inquiry, which senior police said at the time was being operated by a dedicated team of detectives.
The others questioned and released without charge were a 32-year-old from Glenroy, a 27-year-old from Drouin and a 29-year-old from Oak Park.
Phones and electronic items were seized in search warrants carried out at Glenroy, Kilsyth, Oak Park, Drouin, Craigieburn and Doreen.
It is a high stakes matter for those under scrutiny.
Those arrested were, at the time, spoken to over the offence of engaging in conduct that corrupts or would corrupt a betting outcome.
The maximum penalty for that offence is 10 years in prison.
The Herald Sun reported at the time of the arrests that the AFL had been alerted by a betting partner days after the 2022 Brownlow count about suspicious wagering patterns.
Those are believed to have related to investments on who would be awarded three votes in particular matches.
The inquiry has also involved Sports Integrity Australia.
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