Police raid French Ministry of Finance offices as Neymar’s £198m PSG transfer is investigated for fraud

POLICE raided the French Ministry of Finance on Monday as they continue to investigate Neymar’s 2017 transfer to Paris Saint-Germain, according to reports.

The Brazilian moved to PSG from Barcelona in a world-record £198million deal six-and-a-half years ago.

AFP or licensors

Neymar signed for Paris Saint-Germain in 2017[/caption]

Neymar, 31, left France to move to Saudi Arabia last summer.

But his previous transfer to Ligue 1 continues to be put under the microscope.

According to French outlet Mediapart, cops from the Central Office for the Fight against Corruption and Tax Fraud raided the General Directorate of Public Finances on Monday.

Mediapart’s investigation alleges that PSG were helped to not pay taxes on their record swoop for Neymar.

They claim that Minister of the Interior Gerald Darmanin, his chief of staff at the time Jerome Fournel and then vice-president of the National Assembly Hugues Renso were all involved in helping PSG dodge paying taxes on the transfer.

Fournel, 56, is accused of coming up with ideas to help PSG avoid taxes in the deal.

He, along with Darmanin and Renso, is claimed to have been in contact with PSG’s then-general director Jean-Claude Blanc and former director of communications Jean-Martial Ribes.

The raid is said to have taken place as cops investigate alleged “acts of active corruption and influence peddling” and “passive acts”.

French Minister of National Education and Young People Amelie Oudea-Castera recently claimed that nothing “illegal” took place.

While Darmanin himself said on Monday: “I am very happy that football or rugby players come to our territory and pay a lot of taxes and charge a lot of revenue taxes.

“If Neymar had not come, no taxes would have been paid, no football shirts would have been sold in his name and no social security contributions would have come in.”

Neymar left PSG for Al-Hilal in a deal reportedly worth an initial £77.6million last summer.

He subsequently played just five times for the Saudi Pro League side before suffering a serious knee injury in October.

The Brazilian international appeared 173 times during his time at PSG, scoring 118 goals and laying on 77 assists.

Reuters

Neymar, 31, joined Al-Hilal last year[/caption]