Former Tesco trio charged with fraud and false accounting by SFO

Former UK managing director Chris Bush, ex-UK finance director Carl Rogberg and former UK commercial director John Scouler have been charged with one count of fraud by abuse of position and one count of false accounting, the SFO said.

The three have been summoned to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on September 22.

The alleged activity happened between February 2014 and September 2014.

The SFO is probing Tesco’s overstatement of profits by £263m in 2014, which was one of Britain’s biggest corporate scandals.

It said today its investigation “remains ongoing”.

Tesco said in a statement: “We note the decision of the SFO to bring a prosecution against former colleagues in relation to historic issues and acknowledge the investigation into the company is ongoing. 

“Tesco continues to cooperate with the SFO’s investigation. 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.”

Bush was one of eight executives suspended in the wake of the scandal. He left the grocer in late 2014 along with four of the other suspended executives.

Bush’s solicitor said he was not guilty and planned to fight the allegations, the BBC reported. 

Tesco chairman Richard Broadbent quit following the discovery of the profits overstatement.

The grocer has been attempting a turnaround under Dave Lewis, who took the reins in September 2014. Tesco swung  back into the black in its last full-year as pre-tax profits hit £162m.