He is suspended for six months and must pay a £75,000 fine plus £10,000 in costs for intentionally seeming to have agreed to flaunt the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) betting rules and for not telling the governing body, World Snooker, about the incident soon enough.
The two main charges which involved “Agreeing or offering to accept a bribe, bribes or other reward to fix or otherwise to influence improperly the result of a Tournament or Match” and “Agreeing to engage in corrupt or fraudulent conduct” were dropped.
"I have never been involved in any form of snooker match-fixing," he said in a statement after the hearing. "In my 18 years playing professional snooker, I have never deliberately missed a shot, never mind intentionally lost a frame or a match.
"If I am guilty of anything, it is of naivety and trusting those who, I believed, were working in the best interests of snooker and myself."
Allegations of frame throwing came after a News Of The World (NOTW) cameraman secretly filmed him in Kiev with his then manager Pat Mooney.
Mooney has also had match-fixing charges dropped but has been permanently banned from WPBSA.
After the two-day London hearing on Sept. 7-8 overseen by independent body Sport Resolutions, Mr Ian Mill QC summarised the decision:
“Mr Higgins found himself in that meeting having only just beforehand been warned by Mr Mooney that there was a possibility (nothing more) that the subject of throwing frames might arise as part of the overall business discussions that were about to commence.
"Without any opportunity for mature reflection, Mr Higgins, who is by nature someone who seeks to avoid confrontation or unpleasantness, decided to play along with the discussion when the topic did indeed arise.
"He also found the atmosphere in the meeting somewhat intimidating. His focus was entirely on bringing the meeting to an end as soon as possible and getting on a plane home.
"I have no doubt that the association was right to conclude that this account by Mr Higgins was a truthful one."
