One of the billionaire Issa brothers has been warned he risks being in contempt of Parliament after the Standard discovered he had submitted error-strewn evidence to MPs.
Mohsin Issa, who runs and co-owns Asda, was told he must urgently address inaccuracies in a letter he submitted to the Business and Trade Committee, and was accused of failing to notify MPs of the errors.
Liam Byrne MP, chair of the committee, said in a letter: "I was taken aback to read in the Evening Standard of 27 October that Asda has admitted your letter contained 'multiple inaccuracies'.
"I am disappointed to have to point out to you that submitting inaccurate information to a Select Committee is tantamount to misleading the House of Commons and this is prima facie a contempt of Parliament, which is a very serious matter.
"I should add that any contempt of Parliament is significantly compounded by the fact that you have seen fit not to inform the Committee itself of the errors in your letter – leaving us to find out about this matter from a newspaper report."
Last month, an Evening Standard analysis revealed that Mohsin Issa's letter contained multiple inaccuracies as to whether companies were located in offshore tax havens, as well as inconsistencies as to the expressed purpose of different holding companies and omissions on other businesses within the corporate structure.
The letter to MPs suggests that three companies —Asda Group, Asda Stores and McLagan Investments — are domiciled in Jersey, when they are in fact domiciled in the UK.
It also suggests the purpose of one of the entities, called ‘Phantom Investments 2’, was for investment into Wagestream, a payment platform, when investment into the British fintech was in fact made by another firm in the structure, Bellis Phantom Holdco, before the shares were moved out of it in November last year.
Byrne added that the committee "remains concerned about the complexity of the company structure within which Asda sitsand is anxious to establish whether there are any further inaccuracies."
In a statement Asda said: “Unfortunately, there was an error in the table laying out the group of companies, incorrectly suggesting that Asda Group, Asda Stores and McLagan Investments were Jersey domiciled, when they have always been domiciled in the UK. All group companies are UK registered and pay tax in the UK in accordance with UK tax legislation.”
Mohsin Issa has until Thursday to respond to further questions from MPs. An Asda spokesperson has said the company will respond.
The finances of the UK's third-biggest supermarket chain have been a hot topic in the City since it changed hands in 2021, when US retail giant Walmart pulled out of the UK by selling it to the Blackburn-based entrepreneurs in a £6.8 billion deal.
The move was transformative for the Issas, putting them in control of company with 18 million customers a week and 145,000 employees. They set their sights on overtaking Sainsbury’s to put the 600-store company just behind industry leader Tesco.
They financed the deal with debt. Since interest rates started rising in December 2021, the cost of the capital used has increased significantly, stoking Square Mile speculation about the burden of the borrowing on Asda and the Issas.
