Danish police on Thursday raided the homes of two former gossip magazine editors under investigation for allegedly accessing credit card transactions to keep tabs on Danish celebrities.

Police officers seized evidence and laid preliminary charges of slander and violating privacy laws against the two former Se og Hor editors, said police investigator Bent Isager-Nielsen.

“I have not done anything wrong,” said Henrik Qvortrup, editor-in-chief of Se og Hor from 2002 to 2008, after the raid.

Qvortrup, who was detained only briefly, told broadcaster TV2 News that he looked forward to presenting his side of the matter during questioning later Thursday. Police seized a phone and two computers at his home.

His successor, Kim Henningsen - who left the magazine last year - denied any wrongdoing, his laywer said. Police said Henningsen was not detained as he was suffering from ill health.

The news comes after Danish police searched the homes of two former Se og Hor reporters who also face charges of violating privacy laws.

One of them, Ken B Rasmussen, recently published a book alleging that the magazine used confidential credit card transactions to track the movements of celebrities and members of the royal family.

An unnamed employee at IBM who had access to the credit card records reportedly leaked the information to the magazine for financial gain.

He has been charged with violating privacy laws and illegally disseminating personal information.

Aller Media, the company that owns Se og Hor, is also under investigation. The firm has commissioned an external review into the scandal.

The controversy is being compared to the British phone hacking scandal, which in 2011 exposed extensive wrongdoing at Rupert Murdoch’s Sun and News of the World newspapers.

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