The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on Friday revealed that the investigation over the alleged involvement of Nepali footballers in match fixing had been going on for a year.

Nepal Police on Wednesday had arrested five Nepali footballers including skipper Sagar Thapa, his deputy Sandeep Rai, second-choice goalkeeper Ritesh Thapa along with former internationals Anjan KC and Bikash Singh Chhetri on the case.

The footballers have already confessed to their involvement in the crime with police saying it will now investigate the case under treason charges. Skipper Thapa and KC are said to be the “key players” in the game.

AFC on Friday issued a press release revealing that the arrest of quintet preceded a year-long investigation in collaboration with Sportradar Security Service and Nepal Police. Sportsradar monitors and analyses the worldwide betting market for suspicious betting patterns.   

“The process leading to the arrests began when suspicious betting patterns were detected on a number of matches played by the Nepali national team. A year-long investigation followed, involving matches stretching back to 2008 with further intelligence gathering revealing suspicious financial transactions linked to Nepali nationals. The intelligence gathered was shared with the Nepali Police and a formal investigation began which has so far resulted in five arrests, the AFC said in a statement.

AFC also said it will soon launch appropriate disciplinary proceedings over the case. Metropolitan Crime Division chief SSP Sarbendra Khanal on Thursday had said they were in look out for three more players, one official and a bank staff in connection with the case.

During the investigation It was revealed that each player used to get $5,000 for fixing a single match with the manipulation of results.