Laurie McIlwee

The Financial Reporting Council has confirmed it has dropped its investigation into former Tesco CFO Laurie McIlwee.

There was ‘no realistic prospect that a Tribunal would make an adverse finding in relation to the conduct” of McIlwee, the FRC said today, adding it was closing its investigation.

The investigation was opened in the wake of the accounting scandal that hit Tesco in 2014, which saw it admit to overstating accounts by at least £263m.

While McIlwee’s investigation has been dropped, the FRC said it continued to investigate others in relation to the scandal.

Separately, the Serious Fraud Office is still conducting a criminal probe into the events leading up to the scandal at Tesco. McIlwee, who has also held senior roles at Walkers and PepsiCo in the past, is not under investigation.

News of the FRC’s decision to stop investigating McIlwee was first reported by Sky News today. The FRC initially refused to comment but subsequently issued its statement confirming the report.