February 6, 2025
Business

Breaking: Tesco fraud trial halted after defendant has a heart attack

The fraud trial of three former Tesco executives has been discontinued after one of the defendants had a heart attack.

Former Tesco UK finance director Carl Rogberg had a heart attack last Thursday, it emerged today. He is in hospital and will undergo surgery on Friday.

He has been standing trial on charges of fraud and false accounting alongside former UK boss Chris Bush and the former head of commercial food John Scouler.

The jury has now been discharged by the judge. The Serious Fraud Office now has until early March to decide whether it will pursue a re-trial.

A statement was read out on behalf of Rogberg this morning on the steps of Southwark Crown Court.

“Mr Rogberg is devastated at the news that the trial has been aborted," said Neil O'May of Norton Rose Fulbright.

"He waived his right to attend these last stages after he had given evidence himself for many days, and had participated in the last four and half months of the trial.

"He was always very anxious that this jury should be allowed to reach its verdict and is desperately sorry that they were prevented from doing so.”

The trial had already been subject to several delays, but had almost reached the stage when the jury would go out to deliberate on a verdict.

It began back in September, when the accused faced allegations that they had "misled" the stock market.

They were also accused of "bullying" staff into colluding with an accounting coverup.

Tesco's current chief executive Dave Lewis was among those to give evidence in the trial.

The charges relate to the 2014 Tesco accounting scandal, when profits were overstated by around £250m.

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