Net closes on implicated Steinhoff top brass

JOHANNESBURG/CAPE TOWN – The net is closing on Steinhoff International directors implicated in the 2017 auditing scandal after the global retailer yesterday said it would help the state to fund forensic evidence to prosecute those implicated.

The group said in a trading guidance to shareholders that it would fund auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers’ (PwC) forensic probe for the state’s criminal investigation into fraud allegations at the retailer. The firm completed its forensic probe in March last year and handed it to Steinhoff.

The retailer, however, released only 10 pages of the report that is believed to be more than 3 000 pages long, citing confidentiality, as handing over the report would compromise civil and criminal proceedings against implicated persons. 

Among those fingered were former Steinhoff chief executive Markus Jooste and seven others involved in the €6.5 billion (R123bn) accounting fraud that led to a 95 percent decline in the group’s share price. None has thus far been brought to book.

Yesterday, Steinhoff said it was co-operating with various prosecution authorities and regulators in South Africa and other jurisdictions.