HERTFORDSHIRE, ENGLAND - Former Tesco Chief Executive Officer Philip Clarke has been asked to come in for questioning by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to learn more about the multi-million dollar accounting scandal the retailer has been dealing with.
Clarke, who left Tesco in August last year, will be interviewed under caution, The Guardian reports, meaning that any testimony he gives can be used in evidence in the investigation. Kevin Grace, Tesco’s former Commercial Director, has also been called in.
The SFO kicked off the investigation last October of 2014 following the revelation that the company overstated profits by £326 million (roughly $503 million), with many believing the error was due to maliciously and incorrectly booking payments from suppliers to reach sales target, as we’ve previously reported.
Tesco has so far declined to comment on this newest announcement, but has previously said that it would fully co-operate with the SFO. SFO Director, David Green told Bloomberg that he expects the investigation into Tesco will be resolved by the end of this year.
Clarke joined Tesco as a schoolboy shelf-stacker in 1974 and had risen all the way to CEO in 2011. When Clarke was asked to leave the company last summer, he reportedly was paid £1.2 million ($1.8 million) for loss of office.
Tesco, despite all its corporate restructuring, continues to endure economic hardships. The Guardian reports that the company’s shares have slumped down more than 12% in the past month alone and reported a record annual loss of £6.4 billion ($9.8 million) when it announced it had axed nearly 5,000 head office and UK store management jobs, as well as more than 4,000 roles overseas and at the group’s banking division. A further 2,500 jobs were lost with the closure of 43 Tesco stores earlier this month.
Other Tesco suppliers and Directors including Carl Rogberg, the former UK Finance Director, Laurie McIlwee, the former Group Finance Director, are also believed by The Guardian to have had contact with the SFO earlier this year.
