Tesco’s former chief executive Philip Clarke will not face charges in relation to an accounting scandal at the supermarket chain, it has been confirmed. Clarke’s lawyer, David Corker, said on Monday that he had received a letter from the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) informing him of the decision. Unconfirmed reports in recent weeks had suggested Clarke would escape prosecution. “Following a thorough review of the evidence obtained … it has been decided not to initiate criminal proceedings on the grounds there is insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction,” the letter read, according to Corker. He had been questioned over the scandal, which left a £326m hole in Tesco’s books in 2014. The company admitted it had overstated profits by £263m by incorrectly booking payments from suppliers. It later revised the overstatement up by £63m. Three other former Tesco directors in the UK have been charged over the allegations that the firm overstated its profits in 2014. Carl Rogberg, Tesco UK’s former finance director, Christopher Bush, its former managing director, and John Scouler, the former commercial director for food, were each charged with one count of fraud by abuse of position and one count of false accounting. They face up to 10 years in jail if found guilty of fraud by abuse and seven years for false accounting. They have each denied the charges and the case has been sent to Southwark crown court for trial. A source told the Guardian that the decision not to charge Clarke cast doubt on reports that the SFO would seek to prosecute the company because the former directors who have been charged were not sufficiently senior to back up claims of corporate fraud. The SFO declined to comment, save for indicating that its investigation is continuing. It is understood that its options would be to bring charges, drop them, or come to a deferred prosecution agreement with Tesco that would require the firm to agree to a set of conditions, such as allowing in monitors.
Former Tesco CEO Philip Clarke will not be charged by the Serious Fraud Office ( SEC ) with regard to the supermarket ’s accounting scandal , on the grounds of insufficient evidence . The scandal saw the company overstate its profits by £ 326 m in 2010 . Three former UK Tesco directors , Carl Smith , former finance director ; Christopher Smith , former managing director ; and John Scouler , former commercial director for food , have each been charged with fraud by abuse of office and false accounting in relation to the scandal . The charges carry potential sentences of 10 and seven years in jail respectively .