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THE chief executive of BHS claimed yesterday that the former owner of the high-street chain had repeatedly threatened to kill him over money taken from the company.
Darren Topp told MPs that Dominic Chappell made the threats over the phone after Mr Topp questioned him over a £1.5 million transfer of BHS money to Sweden.
He said Mr Chappell — who received a £1.8m payment from selling BHS and £7m from selling the retailer’s offices — said to him: “If you kick off about it, I’ll come down there and kill you.
“Then he threatened to kill me again and I know it sounds silly but apparently he said he was in the helicopter squad in the SAS and I know he’s got a gun … I said: If you threaten me again I’m going to call the police’.”
Mr Topp also accused him of being a “Premier League liar” who had his “fingers in the till.” Mr Chappell claims that he had returned the £1.5m.
Former BHS finance consultant Michael Hitchcock told MPs that he was forced to change the company’s bank mandate to “stop any chance of money flowing out of the business.”
He also said Mr Chappell, a former racing driver who was declared bankrupt at least twice and now heads Retail Acquisitions, was a lying “mythomaniac.”
Mr Hitchcock added: “I question his intelligence, he wasn’t a retailer.
“The motive was purely for his own benefit. There is a big smell test which I adopt in a lot of these situations, and it just did not smell right.”
The two men made the explosive claims during the business and pensions committee that is investigating events which led to the collapse of the business and shutdown of 163 shops.
Around 11,000 BHS employees have lost their jobs while there is a £571m black hole in the pension fund after administrators called time last week on finding a buyer.
Mr Chappell had bought the business for £1 from billionaire retail tycoon Sir Philip Green — who MPs likened to a “corporate crook” on Tuesday and have called for him to be stripped of his knighthood.
Despite widespread criticism of Mr Green for selling to Mr Chappell, the committee was told the Arcadia retail group owner had assured BHS management that the appropriate due diligence had been carried out.
