The UK's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has announced that it has charged three former Tesco executives with fraud, following on from the retailer's accounting scandal two years ago.
The SFO issued a statement on its website, which said that it has charged 'three individuals, Carl Rogberg, 49, Christopher Bush, 50, and John Scouler, 48, with one count of Fraud by Abuse of Position, contrary to section 1 and 4 of the Fraud Act 2006 and one count of False Accounting contrary to s17 Theft Act 1968'.
Christopher Bush is the former MD of Tesco's UK operation, while Rogberg and Scouler held financial and commercial directorships. All three were suspended in November 2014.
According to the SFO, 'The alleged activity occurred between February 2014 and September 2014.
'The above-named individuals have been requisitioned to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 22 September 2016.'
The SFO added that the investigation into Tesco PLC remains ongoing.
UPDATE: Tesco has issued a response to the SFO's statement, in which it said that it 'continues to cooperate with the SFO’s investigation'.
The retailer said that 'the last two years have seen an extensive programme of change at Tesco, but given this is an ongoing legal matter, we are unable to provide any further comment at this time.'
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
