Three former executives accused in an accounting scandal at UK supermarket brand Tesco will face trial next September.
The executives, namely former Tesco UK managing director Christopher Bush; former finance director of Tesco UK Carl Rogberg; and ex-commerical director for food John Scouler, appeared at the Southwark Crown Court for a preliminary hearing of the case last week.
A full trial has been scheduled for 4 September next year.
Facing charges of fraud with regard to Tesco's £326m accounting scandal, the executives are charged of one count of fraud and one count of false accounting.
The three executives could face up to ten years of imprisonment if found guilty of the fraud charges and seven years due to false accounting.
Their lawyers stated that they intended to plead not guilty to the accusations.
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By GlobalDataIn October 2014, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) began a criminal probe into the accounting practices at the supermarket chain following the retailer's admission that its earnings were overstated profits by £263m by incorrectly recording payments from suppliers. Later, this overstated amount increased to £326m.
The court had released the three executives on unconditional bail and ordered them to return on 30 May next year for a plea hearing before the trial begins in next September.