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Tesco: Under investigation for accounting irregularities

Tesco shareholders are taking legal action against the UK supermarket giant to gain compensation for losses caused by its £263 million profit overstatement, it has been announced.

Leading litigation funder, Bentham Europe, said it has agreed to fund legal action on behalf of Tesco shareholders. The case will claim that Tesco has made misleading statements and omissions in relation to its profits for recent financial periods.

The claim, set to be conducted in London by commercial litigation law firm Stewarts Law, will seek to win compensation for Tesco’s alleged breaches of the Financial Services & Markets Act after overstating its earnings.

Last month Tesco rocked the retail world when it announced that its half-year profit forecast was overstated by £263 million, wiping over £2 billion from its share price.

“This is the biggest crisis in Tesco’s history, and shareholders – who saw billions wiped off the value of the company within days – deserve more than just an explanation for what went wrong,” said John Walker, managing director of Bentham Europe.

“We expect the legal claim to reveal the true extent of the problem and allow shareholders to seek compensation for harm suffered”.

Since the accounting black-hole was discovered, several senior Tesco executives have been suspended, and the Serious Fraud Office has announced it is conducting a criminal investigation.