At a brief hearing, the three defendants, former UK finance director Carl Rogberg, UK managing director Christopher Bush and food commercial director John Scouler have been charged with one count of fraud by abuse of position and one count of false accounting. The alleged activity occurred between February 2014 and September 2014.

The prosecutor is Esther Schutzer-Weissmann, a criminal advocate who is known for her expertise in the conduct of complex cases. Her practice spans all areas of serious crime with a particular focus on fraud.  

The three were released on conditional bail with a trial date set for 20 October at Southwark Crown Court.

Tesco was hit by a major accounting scandal in 2014 resulting in a £263m ‘black hole’ in its figures.

The case has been brought by the Serious Fraud Office.

Deloitte’s investigation at the time into the overstatement of the expected half year profits confirmed that there were amounts pulled forward or deferred, contrary to Tesco Group accounting policies and that there was similar practice in previous reporting periods. Deloitte also found that the current and previous practices appear to be linked as income pulled forward grew period by period.

The SFO’s investigation into Tesco is still ongoing. 

Earlier this month, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) announced it had dropped its investigation into Laurie McIlwee, the Tesco’s former chief financial officer.