The former owner of BHS has appeared in court accused of a £500,000 tax fraud and of buying two yachts to launder money.
Dominic Chappell bought BHS in 2015 for £1 from Sir Philip Green, a year before the chain collapsed. City of London magistrates’ court was told that he had used funds from Swiss Rock Limited, his now-bankrupt finance company, to buy two yachts for a total of £412,500. The first, Maverick 5, was bought in April 2015, only a month after the BHS deal.
Mr Chappell, 52, of Dorset, is charged with cheating the public revenue and two counts of money laundering, between January 2014 and September 2016. He was granted bail and will appear at London’s Southwark crown court on July 16