Former BHS owner denies tax fraud charges

Former BHS owner Dominic Chappell has denied tax fraud of £500,000.

Chappell, 52, appeared at Southwark Crown Court on Friday for a plea hearing after he first appeared in court in June.

After speaking to confirm his name, Chappell denied three charges of cheating the public revenue related to his bankrupt finance company Swiss Rock Limited.

The alleged offences are said to have taken place between January 2014 and September 2016.

Chappell, of Blandford Forum, Dorset, is accused of failing to pay VAT or properly register Swiss Rock for VAT returns as well as providing false or misleading information to HMRC.

The court heard on Friday that Chappell is also accused of failing to pay corporation tax as well as personal income tax from dividends he received from Swiss Rock.

Prosecutors previously alleged that the total sum owed to HMRC was approximately £500,000.

Following his not guilty pleas, Chappell will now have a trial in front of a High Court judge on October 5 next year.

Two additional charges of money laundering he originally faced have been dropped.

Chappell made headlines after he was a key part of the consortium which purchased BHS for £1 in 2015, just over a year before it collapsed causing the loss of 11,000 jobs.