Former Tesco execs charged with fraud over accounting scandal

THREE former Tesco executives, including the former finance director of Tesco UK, have been charged with fraud in relation to a £263m accounting scandal at the supermarket chain.

Carl Rogberg, the former FD of Tesco UK, Christopher Bush, the former managing director of Tesco UK, and John Scouler, the former commercial director for food, have all been charged with false accounting and fraud by abuse of position.

The alleged activity occurred between February 2014 and September 2014, the Serious Fraud Office said in a statement.

The SFO launched a criminal investigation in October 2014, a week after Tesco revealed it had overstated its profits by £263m.

Last week, the accounting watchdog scrapped its investigation into Laurie McIlwee, the former chief financial officer at Tesco. The FRC is still investigating the conduct of Tesco’s auditors, PwC.

Tesco said in a statement that it continued to co-operate 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.”

The SFO investigation into Tesco remains ongoing.