British billionaire Sir Philip Green charged with four counts of misdemeanour assault in US

Pilates instructor in Arizona alleges he repeatedly touched her inappropriately

Philip Green, the billionaire owner of fashion retailer Arcadia Group Ltd., poses for a photograph following a Bloomberg Television interview inside a Topshop store on Oxford Street in London, U.K., on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2012. Green, the billionaire owner of the Arcadia fashion business, sold a 25 percent stake in the Topshop and Topman retail chains to Leonard Green & Partners LP, the co-owner of the J Crew fashion brand, in a deal valuing the businesses at 2 billion pounds ($3.2 billion). Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg *** Local Caption *** Philip Green
Powered by automated translation

British retail entrepreneur Sir Philip Green has been charged in the US with four counts of misdemeanour assault.

The Pima County attoney's office says the charges come after a pilates instructor in Arizona alleged that he repeatedly touched her inappropriately.

The incidents allegedly occurred at the Canyon Ranch resort in Tucson in 2016 and 2018.

Pima County Attorney's Office said each count has a potential sentence of up to 30 days in jail and carry a fine of up to £400.

Sir Philip has previously denied the accusations.

It comes after the tycoon was asked by Britain's pension regulator on Friday to handover an additional £50m into the scheme of his floundering retail group.

The group employs 18,000 people in his fashion chain Arcadia Group, stores include  Topshop, Burton, Dorothy Perkins, Miss Selfridge, Wallis, Evans and Outfit.

The charges come amid controversy in the UK where it has been revealed he has used legal non-disclosure agreements to silence allegations of sexist, racist and threatening behaviour towards his employees against him.

The billionaire was alleged to have paid out more than £1 million for the silence of a senior female Arcadia executive after having groped her and called her a “naughty girl”. He was also alleged to have kissed her face and slapped her bottom.

Mr Green was also alleged to have told a black employee he was still “throwing spears in the jungle”, made fun of his dreadlocks and accused him of smoking cannabis. Other staff complained about his treatment of ethnic minorities.

In response to the UK accusations, Mr Green’s lawyers admitted in court that he sometimes he acted in a “tactile” way and has “prodded and poked individuals”.

He told a newspaper: “There has obviously from time to time been some banter, but as far as I’m concerned that’s never been offensive.”

Mr Green has said he “categorically denies any unlawful… sexual behaviour” and denied any “unlawful … racist behaviour”.