The Pensions Regulator has revealed its intention to prosecute former BHS owner Dominic Chappell for his failure to reveal requested documents during its investigation into the sale of BHS.

TPR is prosecuting Chappell for his failure to comply with three notices issued under Section 72 of the Pensions Act 2004. The notices requesting information on BHS were issued by the regulator on 26 April 2016, 13 May 2016 and 20 February 2017.

The Retail Acquisitions director has been summoned to appear at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on 20 September 2017 to face three charges of neglecting or refusing to provide information and documents, without a reasonable excuse, when required to do so under section 72 of the Pensions Act 2004, contrary to section 77(1) of that Act, TPR explained.

Early this year, Chappell refused to pay as much as £17m that is understood to have been requested by TPR, claiming that the BHS pension scheme black hole was not his fault.

Following Chappell’s purchase of BHS for £1 from Sir Philip Green in March 2015, his company Retail Acquisitions received payments of up to £25m from the British chain until it collapsed 13 months later. An investigation into the store’s demise also claimed that Chappell had “his fingers in the till.”

Despite this, a spokesman for Retail Acquisitions said: “Any action brought by The Pensions Regulator will be robustly defended because RAL did not cause or add to the pension deficit, that shortfall was built up during the previous ownership.”

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