May 16- Just when he is trying to focus on preparing the host nation for the World Cup, Brazilian coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has the unwanted distraction of being named as a formal suspect in a tax fraud investigation in Portugal but has not been arrested or charged.
The investigation is reportedly being carried out by Portugal’s Central Department for Criminal Investigations and Prosecutions. Scolari has been named an “arguido” (suspect) as part of a probe into events between 2003 and 2008, when he was Portugal’s head coach, that concerned “a possible breach of tax regulations”.
According to Dutch and Portuguese media reports, the investigation focuses on payments of 7.4m euros made to Scolari during that period.
Dutch daily Het Financieele Dagblad published a document which alleges that Scolari did not declare the income, which is said to stem from image rights. The newspaper said he transferred money through companies based in the Bahamas and other tax havens to a bank account in Miami.
Portugal is reported to have asked US authorities for assistance in the inquiry and has also sent requests to Britain, the Netherlands and Brazil.
Scolari led Brazil to victory in the 2002 World Cup and has also coached in Japan and the Middle East as well as managing Chelsea between 2008-09.
In a statement, the Brazilian said he had “always declared my earnings in all the countries I worked in. I am absolutely convinced of the correctness of my declarations. If there is something wrong, it is not of my doing.”