Ex-BHS owner Dominic Chappell denies tax fraud

The former owner of BHS Dominic Chappell has denied he avoided paying £500,000 in tax. 

Chapell pleaded not guilty to three charges of tax evasion at Southwark Crown Court. The charges allege that he failed to register his former finance company Swiss Rock for taxes from the correct date, gave false information to the taxman, did not declare profits and failed to submit VAT returns. 

The court also heard that Chappell is accused of failing to pay corporate and personal tax from dividends he received from Swiss Rock. The offences are said to have taken place between January 2014 and September 2016.

Prosecutors told the court that the total sum owed to HMRC is around half a million pounds. 

BHS collapsed in 2015, a month after Chappell acquired it from Sir Philip Green in a deal worth £1. When it went into administration, BHS had a pension deficit of £571m. 

Chappell will next face the charges in front of a High Court judge on 5 October next year.