Frank Field has met with the director of the Serious Fraud Office to talk about BHS
Frank Field, chair of the Work and Pensions Committee, has met with the director of the Serious Fraud Office to discuss the ongoing investigation into BHS and Sir Philip Green.
Field said the discussion with the SFO's director David Green came about because of concerns surrounding assurances made about Retail Acquisitions (RAL), the company majority-owned by Dominic Chappell which bought BHS for £1.
Read more: Here's how much Sir Philip Green's BHS pension bill has risen due to Brexit
The SFO could open a criminal investigation into the sale of BHS, and is reviewing material on the case. Green is also facing investigations by the Insolvency Service and the Financial Reporting Council.
"The meeting with David Green was constructive, I was reassured by the tone of the discussions and the approach the SFO is taking," Field said in a statement.
"They of course operate independently and we assured them again of our absolute non-interference: we will simply send them all the evidence we have not published to consider and use as they will."
In particular, Field said the "central concern" of the MPs' inquiry into the demise of BHS was how the high street store was sold to "manifestly unsuitable buyers".
Read more: Sir Philip Green has still not had an apology from Frank Field over "defamatory" comments
"Dominic Chappell himself brought no finance to the deal, RAL had nothing to lose," Field said. "It is clear to us that Sir Philip personally drove it through, appearing, extraordinarily, on both sides of the deal. And it seems he was proud of the fact, bragging to the Chair of his pension trustees that he had ‘put the ball in the net on my own without 27 advisers’."
Sir Philip Green has not been reacting well to Field's part in the investigation into BHS, and has threatened to sue Field for calling him a thief. Morning Wire understands Green is still considering his position with regards to potential legal action.