The UK's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) will not charge former Tesco chief executive Philip Clarke over the accounting scandal at the supermarket chain.
Clarke’s lawyer David Corker was quoted by The Guardian as saying that the SFO informed him of the decision in a letter.
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According to Corker, the letter read: “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.”
Tesco removed Clarke in July 2014 as he could not stop the decrease in revenues and profits. He was replaced by Dave Lewis in September that year.
Two weeks after Lewis’s appointment, the supermarket found that there was a £250m gap in its accounts. This amount later increased to £263m.
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Next September, three former directors of the supermarket will stand trial in the Southwark Crown Court on account of fraud charges.
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By GlobalDataThe executives facing the trial are former Tesco UK managing director Chris Bush, former UK finance director Carl Rogberg and former food commercial director John Scouler.
If found guilty, they will face ten years of jail sentence on account of fraud and seven years for false accounting.
In addition, the supermarket faces a £100m lawsuit from investors, reported The Telegraph.
The investors claim that they lost money due to a dip in share prices as a result of the accounting scandal.
