Juventus and Lazio Among 41 Italian Clubs Under Investigation For Tax Evasion

Well-known Serie A football clubs Juventus and Lazio are just two of more than 40 Italian teams currently under police investigation for potential tax evasion and money laundering among other crimes according to a report from ESPNFC.com.

The report states that 10 other foreign clubs are currently under investigation as well. 

Multiple agents representing professional players in Italy have been included in the police investigation, which was ordered by a Naples court.

The order called for a massive investigation, involving searches and seizures into potential "crimes of criminal conspiracy, international tax evasion, money laundering and invoice falsification."

Juventus, who won the Serie A league championship this past season, and Lazio, who finished seventh in the table to earn a bid for next season's UEFA Europa League, were the only two clubs that were named in the report.

Serie A was the most heavily scrutinized league, as 18 of the 20 teams have reportedly been searched by police. Eleven unnamed teams from Serie B are under investigation and a dozen clubs from Italy's lower-level divisions as well.

Juventus, which features well-known Italian national team stars like goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and midfielder Andrea Pirlo, beat out second-place Napoli by nine points last season to claim the club's second consecutive Italian championship.

Lazio, a well-known squad based out of the capital city of Rome, won the Coppa Italia this past season for the sixth time in club history.

The report states that neither Juventus nor Lazio has released a public statement regarding the ongoing investigation.

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