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LISBON, Portugal -- Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari is under criminal investigation in Portugal for suspected tax fraud and money laundering, according to U.S. court documents obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press. Portuguese tax authorities suspect 7.4 million euros ($10.1 million) that was transferred from Portugal to a bank in Miami between 2003 and 2008, when Scolari was coach of Portugals national team, were local income that the Brazilian did not declare. A U.S. district judge last week granted Portugals request for a series of Miami bank accounts to be examined, Florida court documents show. An assistant U.S. attorney was placed in charge of collecting the evidence. Taxe fraud and money laundering together carry a maximum penalty of 17 years in prison in Portugal, and the investigation is an unwelcome distraction for the Brazil coach as his country prepares to host the World Cup. The 65-year-old Scolari denied any wrongdoing after the court documents were first reported Monday by OffshoreAlert, a Florida-based site specializing in fraud investigations. "I have correctly filed all my tax returns. In all the countries where Ive worked, Ive always declared my income," Scolari said in a statement sent to the AP in Sao Paulo late Tuesday. "If anything is wrong, its not my fault. I hope justice gets to the bottom of the facts." Officials at the Portuguese Football Federation, which employed Scolari as national team coach, did not immediately reply to a request for comment. FIFA had no comment on the investigation. FIFAs code of ethics can be applied to conduct "that damages the integrity and reputation of football and in particular to illegal, immoral and unethical behaviour." Sanctions for breaching the code range from a warning to a ban from any football-related activity. Portuguese investigators want to know who were the "real beneficiaries" of numerous payments made into the Miami accounts over the six-year period. The money went to accounts held by Netherlands-based Flamboyant Sports C.V., London-based Chaterella Investors Limited and Taliston Financial Corp., a British Virgin Islands company, according to prosecutors. Those companies owned, at various times, non-exclusive rights to the use of Scolaris name, image and voice, they say. Transfers were also made to Miami accounts in the name of Scolari himself and of his son Leonardo. The investigators suspect Scolari used those companies and bank accounts to hide income from the Portuguese tax authorities. Portuguese investigators sent their initial request for assistance to the U.S. Justice Department in Washington in late 2012. It was not clear why the request was submitted to a judge only last week. The judge endorsed the request last Thursday. The Portuguese attorney generals office acknowledged in an email to the AP that the Department for Criminal Investigation and Prosecution has opened an inquiry into Scolari, but it provided no further details. In Portugal, ongoing investigations are subject to a judicial secrecy law which forbids the release of details of the case. Scolari, who is Brazilian, led his countrys national team to the World Cup title in 2002. He will again coach the Brazilian team at this years World Cup. He has also coached in Japan and the Middle East. He was coach of Premier League club Chelsea between 2008-09. Scolari was Portugals most successful national team coach. He guided the Portuguese to the final of the 2004 European Championship and to the semifinals of the 2006 World Cup. Along the way, he gave Cristiano Ronaldo his national team debut and made him captain. To help pay the salary of a World Cup-winning coach -- and to prevent him from being poached by other clubs and countries which offered him contracts, including England -- the Portuguese federation signed multimillion-dollar sponsorship deals, including with Nike and two Portuguese banks. Scolari, whose salary in Portugal was never made public, appeared in advertising campaigns. Portugals government has set up special investigative teams and increased penalties in an effort to crack down on tax evasion. The country needed a 78 billion euro ($107 billion) bailout in 2011 after high debts pushed it to the brink of bankruptcy. In neighbouring Spain, where authorities have also targeted tax evaders, officials have brought tax fraud charges against Lionel Messi and his club, Barcelona. ------ AP Sports Writers Tales Azzoni in Sao Paulo and Graham Dunbar in Geneva, and Associated Press writers Alan Clendenning in Madrid, Spain, and Curt Anderson in Miami contributed to this report. 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The Colorado Rockies intentionally walked Yadier Molina with one out and runners on first and third to load the bases for Kozma.The NHL has not decided whether to let its players participate in the Olympics beyond this year, casting doubt on who will be competing for hockey gold in four years. With the league set to push pause on its season for next months Sochi Olympics, Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly also is allowing for the possibility of a security issue that could keep the players from travelling to Russia at all. "As of now, we do not doubt that all necessary steps are being taken by the Sochi Organizing Committee, the Russian government and the IOC to ensure the safety of the athletes and guests in Sochi," Daly wrote Monday in an email to The Associated Press. "Obviously, if something significant were to transpire between now and February 9 that causes us to question that conclusion, we will re-evaluate. I dont expect that that will become necessary." Russian security has been looking for three potential female suicide bombers, one of whom is believed to be in Sochi. The country has assembled what is believed to be the biggest security operation ever for an Olympics with more than 50,000 police and soldiers. "The NHLPA continues to be in contact with Olympic and security officials regarding plans for the Olympic Games in Sochi, and will work closely with all concerned to monitor matters in advance of and during the Games," NHL Players Association spokesman Jonathan Weatherdon wrote in an email. Swedens Daniel Alfredsson has competed in each of the last four Olympics with players from the league and is looking forward to a fifth and probably final time next month. The 41-year-old Detroit Red Wings forward said it would be "bad" for the NHL to take the unique experience away from its players in the future. "Its an unbelievable experience," Alfredsson said. The NHL and the players association will decide on future Olympic participation after Sochi, just as they have done since the top players started participating in the games in 1998. League officials just arent sure freezing their league for two-plus weeks in the middle of the season is good for business -- especially when the Olympics are not in the U.S. or Canada. "The North American experiences have been better than far-away Olympics for a host reasons, including exposure," Daly said in a recent interview with the AP. "When you have a North American-based Olympics, you can have a shorter period without NHL games. Were going to have the longest break weve ever had, and that could interruppt momentum for teams and have an effect on their competitiveness based on how many players they have playing, and how many injuries they have in Sochi.dddddddddddd" The NHL had 150 of its players -- at least one for each of the 12 countries in the tournament -- picked to play. The league will not have any games from Feb. 9 through Feb. 24, a 16-day window that is between major American sporting events: the Super Bowl and the NCAA mens college basketball tournament. Instead of directly benefiting from the decreased competition for time and money from casual fans, the league can only hope that allowing its players to be in the Olympics draws more people to the game. "There are potential negative impacts with participating midseason in the Olympics and that factors into the overall analysis of whether its a good idea for us to go or not," Daly said. When the Sidney Crosby-led Canadians beat the Americans for gold four years ago in Vancouver, nearly 35 million people watched on TV. "Its pretty obvious to say its good for the game," Chicago Blackhawks and U.S. forward Patrick Kane said. But even if theres a rematch in the gold-medal game on Feb. 23, the audience likely will be much smaller because the puck is scheduled to drop at 4 p.m. in Sochi and at 7 a.m. or earlier in North America. Would the NHL let its players compete in the Winter Olympics only when theyre held in North America? "I dont think thats where we would go, but I wouldnt rule it out," Daly said. Players, seemingly universally, want to play in the Winter Olympics for the sixth straight time in 2018 in South Korea -- and beyond. The NHL and NHL Players Association have been in talks about bringing back the World Cup of Hockey that wouldnt conflict with the leagues regular season. Daly said the NHL and NHLPA are both in favour of creating a uniform international calendar. "A World Cup should clearly play a part in that," Daly said. NHL players, meanwhile, dont want a World Cup of Hockey -- perhaps every two years -- to replace an opportunity to play in the Olympics. "The World Cup would be cool, but the Olympics are something else," said Swedish and Detroit Red Wings goaltender Jonas Gustavsson, who was picked to play for his country in a second straight Olympics. "Its all the best athletes in all the sports in one place, trying to get gold. To take the best hockey players out of the Olympics would be wrong and would be a shame." ' ' '