False accounting at Tesco took place on an industrial scale, leading to a £250m overstatement of the company’s profits, a court was told.
Two former directors at the supermarket chain went on trial yesterday accused of fraud. About £2bn was wiped off the value of Tesco in September 2014 when it announced that a statement the previous month had overstated its profits.
Chris Bush, former UK managing director, and John Scouler, former UK food commercial director, were aware that income was being wrongly included in the company’s financial records to meet targets and make Tesco look financially healthier than it was, Southwark crown court heard.
Tesco is Britain’s biggest retailer, with more than 300,000 employees and 3,400 stores.
