The chief executive of Portsmouth Football Club, Peter Storrie, has been charged with tax evasion.

Storrie was formally charged by the City of London Police today as part of the ongoing investigation into corruption in football.

The charge relates to Storrie arranging an alleged £250,000 signing on fee for midfielder Amdy Faye, who signed for Portsmouth from Auxerre for £1.5million.

This was to be paid via agent Willie McKay between July 2003 and August 2005. It is alleged this was a means of avoiding tax and national insurance contributions.

Storrie is due to appear before the City of Westminster magistrates on 16 November.

He has been on bail since being arrested in November 2007 on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and false accounting.

Storrie insisted last month that he would “defend the allegations in the strongest possible terms and is entirely confident that he will be exonerated”.

A statement released on 22 October read: “Mr Storrie would like to place on record his astonishment at the decision that has been made to charge him with an offence of cheating the public revenue, and bewilderment as to how such a conclusion could be reached concerning the transfer of the player Amdy Faye to Portsmouth Football Club.

“At the time negotiations to acquire this player were concluded, Mr Storrie was on honeymoon and was not directly concerned in the agreement that was reached regarding Faye's acquisition.

“He was at that time and has continued to be the chief executive of the club and remunerated as such. Mr Storrie did not and could not have gained from any cheating of the public revenue given his role within the club and allowing for the fact that he had no proprietary interest in Portsmouth FC.”

Harry Redknapp, who was manager of Portsmouth at the time of the deal and Milan Mandaric — who was chairman — are understood to have been cleared of any wrongdoing over the Faye transfer.