Former Tesco executives accused of falsely boosting profits

Three former senior Tesco executives overstated and "Massaged" the UK supermarket group's expected profits by £250m and then "Bullied and coerced" less senior staff to falsify the figures, a criminal trial has heard. Carl Rogberg, 50, Christopher Bush, 51, and John Scouler, 49, are being prosecuted by the Serious Fraud Office for their alleged role in an accounting scandal in which Tesco was found to have inflated its profits by £250m in 2014. Prosecutor Sasha Wass QC told a jury at Southwark Crown Court that Tesco was forced to issue a corrected profit statement to the stock market in 2014 after the alleged fraud was discovered, which sent "Shockwaves" through the City. Two other Tesco employees "Became increasingly concerned" during 2014 about the accounting practices and prepared a paper - known as the legacy paper - on their concerns for the Tesco board. The paper hit the Tesco board directors "Like a hand grenade" and prompted an investigation that eventually led to Tesco issuing the corrected statement in September 2014, the court heard.

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