The AFC's Disciplinary Committee found the five accused, including Nepal's skipper Sagar Thapa, guilty of the offence, according to a statement issued by the football governing body of Asia on Friday.
"Official Anjan KC and the four players, Bikash Singh Chhetri, Sandip Rai, Ritesh Thapa and Sagar Thapa, were found guilty of violating article 62 and 69 of the AFC Disciplinary Code in relation to various friendly international A team fixtures during
the period 2008-2012," reads the AFC statement.
"All five had been provisionally banned by the AFC Disciplinary Committee on October 16."
The statement further says that the life bans follow a year-long investigation coordinated between the AFC and its partner Sportradar, as well as the Metropolitan Crime Division of the Nepal Police and the UEFA integrity unit.
The Nepal Police had arrested the tainted athletes on October 14, accusing them of match-fixing during international fixtures, under the financial inducement of bookies.
All five arrested are defenders, apart from Ritesh, who is second choice goalkeeper of the current national team.
According to police sources, the players had admitted their role in influencing the outcome of matches, under financial inducements. In an initial statement, they had said that they did not accept any match fixing proposal for matches which the team was likely to win. They only accepted such proposals for a match the team was likely to lose anyway.
The players later pleaded innocence before a court.
According to financial details received by police, the fixers received around Rs 10 million ($ 100,000) for a single match. Most of the amounts involved come from Malaysia via hundi (hawala) and money transfer agencies. A player receives Rs 100,000 to Rs 1 million as per his role.
The Nepali football team came under scrutiny after it faced a humiliating 9-0 defeat against Jordan in 2011 in a World Cup Qualifiers away match. Police geared up the investigations after close surveillance of some players showed that hefty amounts had accrued to their accounts at money transfers. The main bookies are in Malaysia and Singapore, and some other are still in Nepal.
The AFC says it has a zero tolerance to match-manipulation and a 360 degree view on the issue through prevention, detection and response.
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