UK retail giant Tesco to pay £214m over accounting scandal

London

TESCO plc agreed to pay £214 million (S$375.2 million) in fines and investor compensation over its 2014 accounting scandal as shareholders lined up to oppose the British grocer's US$4.7 billion takeover of food wholesaler Booker plc.

The UK's biggest retailer said on Tuesday that its Tesco Stores Ltd unit has provisionally agreed to pay £129 million under a deferred prosecution agreement with the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) after a two-year investigation into false accounting. The company also said that it's agreed with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to pay £85 million to compensate investors.