Anderlecht and Belgium FA offices raided in money-laundering probe

Prosecutors are reportedly looking into transfers made before a 2017 change of ownership at Anderlecht

Anderlecht’s Constant Vanden Stock Stadium (Action Images)

Belgian police raided the offices of Anderlecht and the national football association on Wednesday in relation to a money laundering investigation involving agents and player transfers.

An Anderlecht spokeswoman told the broadcaster VRT the club are cooperating fully, while a spokesman for the Belgian FA said police had taken away transfer documents from its headquarters.

"(The raids) concern money laundering and a group of criminals, in particular questions are being asked about the transfer of one or more players," the federal prosecutor said in a statement.

It said the investigation also focuses on the suspicious actions of one or more agents and concerned events prior to 2016.

VRT and other local media said prosecutors were looking into transfers made before a 2017 change of ownership at Anderlecht and had also raided an agent's office in the capital.

It is understood that among the transfers being investigated is the transfer of the Serbia striker Aleksandar Mitrovic to Newcastle in 2015. The club declined to comment.

The prosecutor's spokesman had earlier on Wednesday said that the raids were not linked to the wide-ranging "Footballgate" probe into match-fixing and fraud which rocked the domestic league last year after the national side's third place finish at the World Cup.

The raids come at a miserable time for Anderlecht, champions in 2017 and historically Belgium's most successful club.

Dismal form has prompted a fan revolt that saw them fined and docked points this month when crowd trouble forced a match at arch-rivals Standard Liege to be abandoned; they then fired coach Fred Rutten after just 13 games in charge.

The two-times holders of the Cup Winners' Cup and 1983 UEFA Cup winners are on the verge of failing to qualify for European competition next season for the first time in 55 years.

Reuters