Tesco clears £2.1m payoff for former executives Philip Clarke and Laurie McIlwee
Tesco will hand its former chief executive and chief financial officer £2.1m between them, after the payments were approved following the accounting scandal which came to light last year.
Philip Clarke and fellow exec Laurie McIlwee will receive £1.2m and £970,880 respectively, after the supermarket found there were no legal grounds to continue withholding the payments.
"The company is contractually committed to make the relevant payment to each former director unless it can legally establish a case of gross misconduct against him," Tesco said in a statement on its website.
"The company has taken legal advice and has concluded that it does not have the basis for continuing to withold the payments."
Tesco first said it would withhold the payments from Clarke and McIlwee in October, following the discovery that profits had been overstated to the tune of £263m.
The troubled grocer is currently under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office, and said it could still reclaim the monies paid to Clarke and McIlwee at some point in the future.
"If new information were to come to light which would change this assessment, the company will pursue recovery of the payments and damages and has fully reserved all its legal rights in this respect," Tesco added.