Thursday 27 April 2017 15:48, UK
Former Newcastle midfielder Sylvain Marveaux was among four people arrested in France on Thursday as part of the investigation into suspected tax evasion and money laundering.
The probe is centred around the transfer of football players between England and France.
A person with direct knowledge of the case told The Associated Press that the 31-year-old Marveaux was arrested during a wave of raids in both countries.
French newspaper Le Parisien first reported Marveaux's arrest.
The three other people are players' agents, the same person told the AP.
French authorities are assisting the British-led investigation, which centres on whether payments were hidden to players, agents or third parties to evade income tax and social security contributions.
Premier League leaders Chelsea, West Ham and Newcastle United are the only clubs in England so far to be publicly embroiled in the far-reaching probe.
Britain's tax authority, which seized financial records, computers and phones in raids, said the suspected fraud amounts to £5m.
Marveaux currently plays for French club Lorient. Nobody at the club was available for comment.
Marveaux joined Newcastle in 2011 on a five-year contract before signing a loan deal with Guingamp that brought him back to France three years later.
The escalation in the investigation on Wednesday followed HMRC telling legislators in December that 43 players and 12 football clubs in the UK, alongside eight agents, were being investigated.
