The inquiry will look into the expenses paid to former FAI chief John Delaney

A special taskforce of finance investigators, tax experts and forensic accountants from the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) is being assembled by Garda Headquarters to investigate the financial affairs of the Football Association of Ireland (FAI).

The inquiry will examine whether the expenses paid by the FAI to its former chief executive John Delaney should have been declared as taxable income. It will also seek to establish whether the association met its obligations under the Companies Act and whether it was run in accordance with its own constitution, according to security sources.

The decision to establish a squad of investigators with expertise in fiscal inquiries was made after the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau studied an auditor’s report commissioned by Sport Ireland into the FAI’s finances.