Thursday 12 September 2019 11:08, UK
Belgian police have arrested former Anderlecht executive Herman Van Holsbeeck as part of a money laundering and corruption investigation surrounding player transfers.
The prosecutor's office in Brussels says an arrest was made on Thursday following raids earlier this week in Monaco, Belgium and London that led to the arrest of Christophe Henrotay, one of the most influential Belgian agents working with international players.
A former professional player, Van Holsbeeck worked with Anderlecht from 2003 until April 2018 as general manager.
Prosecutors said the wave of arrests is linked to searches that took place in April when Belgian police probed the offices of Anderlecht and the Belgian football association. Investigators are looking into alleged money-laundering operations and corruption involving the transfer of players.
Agent Henrotay was arrested in Monaco on Wednesday as part of the investigation, with one of those transfers under scrutiny being Aleksandar Mitrovic's 2015 switch from Anderlecht to Newcastle.
Henrotay is also the agent of international superstars including Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and his Belgium team-mate Yannick Carrasco.
This case is not related to the massive corruption scandal that engulfed Belgian soccer last year when authorities carried out 57 police raids in the country and around Europe in a probe into financial fraud and match-fixing.
