Three former Tesco executives have been charged with fraud and false accounting as part of an investigation into accounting irregularities at the supermarket.
Chris Bush, 50, former chief executive of Tesco's UK business; Carl Rogberg, 49, former finance director for the UK division; and John Scouler, 48, former food commercial director, will appear at Westminster magistrates' court later this month.
They are each charged with one count of fraud by abuse of position and one count of false accounting, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said in a statement on Friday.
The SFO, which is bringing the charges, said the investigation into a £263 million accounting overstatement was still ongoing. The charges relate to activity between February 2014 and September 2014.
Just weeks after Tesco's chief executive Dave Lewis took charge in September 2014, an investigation into the supermarket overstating its profits was announced.
Last week, the Financial Reporting Council, which oversees accounting best practice in the UK, said its investigation into former Tesco finance chief Laurie McIlwee had ended.
Tesco said in a statement: "We note the decision of the SFO to bring a prosecution against former colleagues in relation to historic issues and acknowledge the investigation into the company is ongoing.
"Tesco continues to cooperate with the SFO’s investigation. The last two years have seen an extensive programme of change at Tesco, but given this is an ongoing legal matter, we are unable to provide any further comment at this time."
The three men will appear at Westminster magistrates' court on 22 September.