Investigators swooped on a
string of top football clubs in Portugal on Wednesday as part of a tax evasion
probe, the prosecutor's office announced.
Benfica
and Porto confirmed searches and declared themselves ready to collaborate with
the authorities.
"Porto...
Confirm that they were the target of searches carried out by the Central Court
of Criminal Investigation," said Porto in a statement.
"As
always, they are collaborating with the legal authorities."
Sporting
Lisbon and Braga, as well as the offices of top football agent Jorge Mendes,
were also searched, according to local media reports.
Around
100 tax inspectors backed by 180 police and a dozen magistrates carried out 76
raids on "clubs, their businesses and directors, as well as lawyers
offices and intermediary agents", the prosecutors' office said in a
statement.
They
further revealed that the raids, codenamed 'operation offside', were aimed at
"professional football dealings which have taken place since 2015 and
which included activities destined to evade paying taxation due to the
state".
Media
reports said investigators were interested in deals involving the transfer of
players, with prosecutors looking for efforts to hide or modify sums involved
that could lead to charges including tax fraud and money laundering.
In
early February, the Portuguese weekly Sabado reported that a major
investigation was underway into several suspicious transfers or contracts,
often involving Mendes.
Among
the players concerned, the magazine cited current and former Porto players Iker
Casillas, Danilo, Radamel Falcao and Jackson Martinez and Benfica stars Raul
Jimenez, now with Wolves, and Pizzi.
Suspicion
reportedly arose after the 'Football Leaks' revelations, an investigation carried
out by European newspapers based on documents obtained by Portuguese hacker Rui
Pinto.
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