Newcastle, West Ham United Raided by HMRC in Transfer Dealings Investigation

West Ham United and Newcastle United have both had their stadiums raided by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs as part of an investigation into transfer activity, while Chelsea have also been asked to provide information to the organisation.

Ed Malyon of The Independent reported Newcastle's managing director Lee Charnley has also been arrested. 

Per Sky Sports News' Bryan Swanson, HMRC confirmed the nature of the investigation in a statement:

Swanson provided the full statement from HMRC on Twitter, in which it's revealed raids have also been carried out in France:

Dan Roan of BBC Sport provided further details about the investigation at the London Stadium:

As reported by Roan, West Ham have released a statement noting "the Club is cooperating fully with HMRC to assist their enquiries" and added "no further comment will be made at this time."

Per Richard Conway of BBC Sport, Chelsea have also confirmed they have been asked to provide some information to HMRC, although there have been no raids at Stamford Bridge:

Charnley has worked alongside Newcastle owner Mike Ashley in recent years, helping the club conduct transfer business after his promotion to the role of managing director in 2014. As noted by Malyon, he sanctioned a net spent of around £70 million on new signings in 2016.

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Newcastle are set to take their place back in the Premier League in the 2017-18 season, having confirmed their automatic promotion from the Championship with a 4-1 win over Preston North End on Monday.

West Ham currently sit 14th in the Premier League table after a disappointing debut campaign at the London Stadium. They are seven points clear of the relegation zone.

This article will be updated to provide more information on this story as it becomes available.