BHS BOSS GUILTY
Chappell faces huge fine for hiding info on sale but insists he will appeal
FORMER BHS owner Dominic Chappell was last night facing a hefty fine after being found guilty of hiding information over the sale of the defunct High Street chain.
The ex-racing driver, previously declared bankrupt three times, was convicted of keeping details of the 2015 deal between himself and Sir Philip Green from the pensions watchdog.
Chappell, 51, bought BHS from Green for £1, inheriting 11,000 workers, more than one hundred stores and a pension blackhole that would rise to £571million when the firm went bust a year later. But Chappell ignored legallybinding notices from The Pensions Regulator ordering him to divulge details as they
It’s a sham, a show trial.. he is in fact the man who tried to save BHS LEGAL TEAM
tried to unpick the takeover. District Judge William Ashworth took more than six hours to come to his verdict last night, after three days of evidence in Brighton.
He told Chappell some of the evidence he gave was “not credible”, with explanations for not answering the watchdog’s questions “making no sense”.
The case is not the end of the line for Chappell, with TPR seeking a huge amount of money to help plug the department store’s pension deficit.
They are understood to be seeking more than £10million from Chappell, after getting £363million from Green last year.
Chappell’s legal team labelled the prosecution a “sham” and a “show trial” as they accused TPR of using him as a “political scapegoat”.
“He is in fact the man who tried to save BHS.
“And it is not too dramatic to say he now sits alone in the court dock on a cold January morning while those actually responsible tiptoe across the sun-kissed sands of the Caribbean.”
Chappell, of Dorset, will find out how big a fine he has to pay at a later date.
He said he would immediately appeal the verdict.