'Bung' arrest made
Stevens gave his latest report to the Premier League on friday
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Saturday, 09, Jun 2007 11:15
City of London police have made their first arrest in connection to the ongoing inquest into illegal payments in the football industry.
A 61-year-old man was arrested in Manchester yesterday but has been released on bail until October.
Police suspect the man to be involved with money laundering and that there is a connection between this activity and football.
The arrest was made after police examined evidence from the inquest being conducted by former Metropolitan police commissioner Lord Stevens.
A police spokeswoman said: "We can confirm a 61-year-old man has been arrested in Manchester in connection with our investigation into football corruption."
Lord Stevens' Quest team has investigated 362 transfers between January 2004 and January 2006 and requested more time to probe 17 of those further in December 2006.
According to the Guardian it is believed the inquiry found "serious breaches" of transfer-market regulations have been found in the report that Stevens handed to Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore on Friday.
Although most of the inquiry has focused on the activities of football agents, police confirmed that the man arrested in Manchester is not an agent.
The City of London police said the arrest was part of a separate investigation from the Stevens inquiry but that information had been exchanged between them.
Scudamore is now under increasing pressure to reveal the finding of the report while Quest may be asked to carry on with further investigations.