The growing scandal hit the headlines a fortnight ago when the ex-coach and two former players of Lierse were sacked by their new teams.

Paul Put, the former coach who moved to Excelsior Mouscron, admitted that he fixed two matches because he and his family were threatened with violence.

Marius Mitu and Laurent Delorge, who played for Belgium's most famous side Anderlecht, also admitted to club officials they had helped to influence results last season with Lierse.

The police investigation was launched last November after Betfair revealed excessive amounts of betting on a number of Belgian matches.

The Belgian Football Association launched their own investigation last month after a programme by national broadcaster VRT alleged match-fixing in seven first division matches this season, and also alleged last season's championship was tainted.

ONE MILLION

"Ye basically approached clubs with financial problems or were seeking to improve their position in the league by offering them a million euros," Pellens said.

"He offered half up front and on the spot, but with the stipulation that as an investor he wanted a say in who was picked, who was sold and who was bought."

The next stage in Ye's plan was to approach the players and coaching staff direct and attempt to bribe them, the spokeswoman said.

Local media reported last year that Ye invested in Lierse, but was unsuccessful in his approaches to other teams.