Paris: French prosecutors have launched an investigation into alleged transfer fraud at Ligue 1 soccer club Paris St Germain between 1998 and 2003, a judicial source said on Tuesday.

The Paris prosecutor?s office will look into the transfers of players like Brazilian Ronaldinho, the 2004 World Player of the Year, to determine whether agents received illegal commission, the source said.

The case was opened after a complaint by French television Canal Plus, which owns PSG, over Ronaldinho?s arrival in 2001 and the Brazilian?s departure in 2003. Legal sources said the prosecutor?s office was also investigating the transfers of France striker Nicolas Anelka to Manchester City in 2002 and Italy?s Marco Simone to Monaco in 1999.

According to Le Figaro newspaper which reported the case on Tuesday, PSG officials said they were ?not concerned about a case which belongs to another era?.

French prosecutors have already launched inquiries into alleged tax evasion attempts during transfers at Olympique Marseille and alleged fraud by various soccer agents after a complaint by the French soccer federation last year.