Top clubs and agents in dock over new TV investigation

Premiership football will be hit with a new corruption scandal later this month after at least one leading agent and three top-flight clubs were targeted by an undercover BBC sting that will make serious allegations about the probity of transfers and financial dealings in the national game.

The agent involved is understood to be considering leaving the country following the probe while the clubs involved have all been contacted by the investigators on the BBC's Panorama programme to answer questions about allegations of "tapping up" players and corruption. These latest findings are due to emerge as Lord Stevens prepares his report into transfer bungs that was launched last season.

Crucial to the programme's success in breaking into the tightly guarded world of agents and clubs was a whistleblower from inside the agents' industry recruited by the BBC's investigators. It was he who carried out much of the undercover filming that took place at meetings between agents and club officials.

So far no one from the agents' fraternity has been prepared to go to such lengths to expose wrongdoing and the BBC is confident that it has a very strong case against a number of individuals. Lord Stevens' company Quest, which is carrying out the investigation into transfers at the behest of Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore, is understood to be eager to see the BBC's evidence.

While the identity of the key agent in question is known by The Independent, it was not confirmed by the BBC, which is still finalising the programme that is scheduled to be aired on 18 September. Lawyers acting on behalf of those with allegations against them are still preparing their defence but some details of the charges can be outlined.

At least five agents have been contacted by the BBC via letter detailing serious allegations of corruption. Three officials at Premiership clubs have also been contacted by the BBC over corruption allegations.

As well as those officials, three Premiership clubs have been contacted by the BBC over what is described as breaking industry rules. That charge is known to relate to "tapping up" players, which is the term used to describe an illegal approach to a player without the permission of the club to whom he is under contract.

The investigation by the BBC has become the talk of the football agents' world as word has spread about the names of those who might be implicated. With Lord Stevens expected to report to the Premier League possibly before the end of this month, there is genuine anticipation that the former Metropolitan police commissioner will have some serious allegations about high-profile figures in the game made to him.

With the BBC investigation likely to coincide with the Premier League inquiry, there will be greater pressure on Lord Stevens to make sure his report is not perceived as a whitewash. His inquiry has interviewed numerous figures within the game and had access to clubs' paperwork concerning transfer deals.

In an industry that thrives upon rumour, there is anecdotal evidence about wrongdoing in transfer dealings but little hard evidence that could lead to a criminal conviction.

Scudamore announced the bung inquiry in January, shortly after the Sven Goran Eriksson "fake sheikh" sting. On that occasion, the then England manager and his agent Athole Still made suggestions to an undercover reporter that three clubs were guilty of corruption. Eriksson was interviewed by the FA but is thought to have dismissed the sting as idle gossip.

At that time, transfer "bungs" - illegal kickbacks paid to managers by third parties for buying certain players - were top of the agenda after then QPR manager Ian Holloway and Luton manager Mike Newell made similar claims.

The remit of the Stevens inquiry originally stated it would only investigate transfers going back to January 2004, including five transfer windows - not including this summer - and only potential illegal payments between employees or officials of clubs.

It is not clear how many individuals Panorama will target as it edits its findings into a one-hour show.