The investigator Quest yesterday issued a statement reiterating that it had not discovered any irregular payments in transfers involving the agent Willie McKay. In the immediate aftermath of the final report of Lord Stevens' team in June, McKay threatened legal action against the investigator for having named him.

McKay had been involved in the transfers of Jean-Alain Boumsong from Rangers to Newcastle United for £8m and Amady Faye from Portsmouth to Newcastle for £2m, which were among the 17 Quest refused to sign off as satisfactory.

The agent's name was also raised in connection with a racehorse he registered in the name of the Portsmouth manager, Harry Redknapp, which he explained had been merely a public-relations exercise.

"Further to the key findings from the final Quest report published on 15 June 2007 by the Premier League, Quest would like to emphasise that, in that report, it was clear that no evidence of irregular payments was found in the transfers in the inquiry period which involved the agent Willie McKay," said the statement, which was endorsed by the Premier League. "Quest would also like to thank Mr McKay for his cooperation with the inquiry."

McKay interpreted yesterday's clarification as an exoneration. "I am delighted to hear that Quest and Lord Stevens' team have cleared me of any wrongdoing in transfers," he said in a statement. "The last year or so has been hard for me and my family, living with accusations and innuendo which I knew were not true."

A separate City of London police investigation is continuing into transfer activities, with one of McKay's clients, Pascal Chimbonda, currently on police bail for an alleged conspiracy to defraud.