Soccer-Clubs raided by HMRC, arrests made in tax probe

English soccer clubs were raided early on Wednesday morning by tax officials as part of a wide-sweeping probe, with several men arrested for suspected Income Tax and National Insurance fraud.

"180 HMRC officers have been deployed across the UK and France today," a statement from the body responsible for UK tax collection said.

"Investigators have searched a number of premises in the North East and South East of England and arrested the men and also seized business records, financial records, computers and mobile phones."

HMRC said French authorities were assisting the UK investigation, that they have made arrests and that several locations have been searched in France.

"This criminal investigation sends a clear message that, whoever you are, if you commit tax fraud you can expect to face the consequences."

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)