Premier League clubs under tax probe
LONDON: More than half of the 20 English Premier League clubs are at the centre of a tax probe dubbed the “biggest in British football history”.
Newcastle and West Ham were raided by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in April, with Chelsea also in its sights.
But Sun Sport can reveal tax inspectors have since demanded English FA transfer records linked to up to 10 more top-flight clubs.
No warrants were sought or issued, with FA chiefs keen to be seen to co-operate.
Sources on Friday described the scale and pace of the inquiry as “frightening”.
It is thought to centre on transfers totalling hundreds of millions.
Several involve deals for French stars, including Tottenham Hotspur’s former Newcastle ace Moussa Sissoko and former Chelsea striker Demba Ba. Other transfers that have been probed include Toon signings Davide Santon, Sylvain Marveaux and Papiss Cisse.
HMRC fears some agents, clubs and players may have conspired to dodge millions in tax by hiding money from them during deals.
The inquiry, code named Operation Loom, is running alongside a separate investigation into players’ image rights deals. And it means some of football’s biggest names could soon be facing an early morning knock at the door.
Mark Taylor, a former top HMRC investigator, told reporters: “When I was at the Revenue I worked on the investigation into Swindon Town in the 1990s.
“But in comparison this is without a shadow of a doubt the biggest tax investigation in British football history.
“My prediction is HMRC will decide to proceed criminally in the strongest cases and take civil action to recover lost revenue in others. It will choose targets carefully.”
Football was rocked in April when 180 taxmen took part in dawn raids in Newcastle, London and France.
Court papers show that HMRC had “reasonable grounds for the belief Newcastle was engaged in criminality” and “tax evasion”.
“Sham” contracts are said to have hidden payments made by the club, meaning the tax system was “systematically abused” between 2010-2013.
Toon managing director Lee Charnley was also arrested at his home. He was quizzed all day before being released.
Court papers also show HMRC experts believe Charnley “could not be trusted”.
The training ground and St James’ Park were searched along with West Ham’s London Stadium.
In France, Marveaux was quizzed – as were three agents – but released without charge.
Tax inspectors are now sifting through thousands of e-mails, handwritten notes and letters from clubs being investigated.
HMRC said: “All clubs are required to be transparent with us about their transfers and there are consequences if they’re not.”
After the April raids, Newcastle said: “We can confirm a member of staff has been assisting HMRC with inquiries.”
West Ham said the club would co-operate fully with HMRC.