Tesco has said that the company  "has been cooperating fully with the SFO and will continue to do so. Tesco has been notified by the Financial Conduct Authority that, in light of the SFO investigation, its investigation will be discontinued.”

It appears that the company may have been indulging in "inappropriate behaviour" with sources close to the company saying that a small group of employees who realised that sales targets would not be hit, negotiated secret deals with suppliers to still make payments, offering benefits in the next financial period for doing so.