Asda co-owner Mohsin Issa has angered parliament during his “extraordinary” appearance before the business and trade committee.
MPs described the session as “drawing teeth” after accusing Issa of failing to answer questions about the supermarket’s fuel prices, finances and treatment of staff, The Times.
The Asda co-owner was questioned on the Competition and Markets Authority’s findings that the supermarket had increased margin targets on fuel prices and had been deliberately slow in passing on falling wholesale prices to shoppers.
Issa responded several times that its pricing strategy had not changed under his ownership and that Asda was still a “price leader on fuel”.
Subscribe to Retail Gazette for free
Sign up here to get the latest news straight into your inbox each morning
However, CMA director of markets Dan Turnbull said the supermarket had used volatility in the market resulting from the war in Ukraine as an “opportunity” to delay passing on failing diesel wholesale prices.
Issa responded that it was “absolutely not” the case and that the regulator had been “unfair”.
The competition authority told MPs that it wanted to fine Asda more than the maximum £60,000 for its failure to submit appropriate information for its investigation on fuel pricing.
Chairman of the committee Darren Jones later told colleagues to “give up” its questions as Issa’s evidence was “completely at odds” with the CMA’s findings.
The co-owner said he could not answer questions on the £1.7bn dividend awarded to Asda’s offshore parent company or why it used offshore structures.
Jones threatened to recall Issa after the “extroadinary [session was] spent…going around in circles.”
Mohsin and his brother Zuber, backed by private equity firm TDR Capital, snapped up Asda in a £6.8bn debt-fuelled deal from Walmart in 2020.
Earlier this year, the brothers agreed to sell the UK and Ireland operations of petrol station business EG Group to Asda in a £2.3bn deal to help cut down the group’s piling debts.
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter
