Former BHS owner Dominic Chappell has been fined £124,000 by the Hove Crown Court for breaking pensions law.
According to Sky News Chappell was found guilty of withholding documents on the company’s pension scheme from the The Pensions Regulator (TPR) after it went into administration, and was re-sentenced on Friday (14 December) after losing his appeal against his conviction and sentence in September.
Judge Christine Henson QC said Chappell showed a “complete lack of remorse” and a “blatant” refusal to comply with pension law.
In January, Chappell was also convicted at Brighton Magistrates’ Court by District judge William Ashworth of three offences of neglecting or refusing to provide information and documents without a reasonable excuse. District judge Gary Lucie then sentenced Chappell to pay a £50,000 fine, £37,000 costs and a £170 victim surcharge.
BHS collapsed in 2015, a month after he acquired it from Sir Philip Green for £1. When it went into administration, BHS had a pension deficit of £571m. Green later paid £363m towards the debt.
He also failed to provide TPR with information about a possible unauthorised disclosure of restricted material. TPR’s separate anti-avoidance action against Chappell in respect of the BHS pension schemes is continuing.
