Britain's biggest retailer Tesco said on Tuesday it had lifted suspensions on contract settlements due to former chief executive Phil Clarke and ex-finance chief Laurie McIlwee.

Tesco said in a statement it had agreed to pay Clarke almost £1.22 million pounds (€1.6m) and McIlwee £970,880 pounds under their separation agreements.

The payments had been suspended due to an investigation into Tesco’s accounting practices. The firm said on Tuesday that, following legal advice, it had concluded it did not have the basis to continuing withholding them.

Tesco said that an accounting probe by Britain’s Serious Fraud Office was ongoing and that it would look to recover the payments if new information came to light that changed its assessment.

Reuters