Steinhoff ex-CEO’s art sale hit price of top South Africa painter
JOHANNESBURG – A mass sale of art by former Steinhoff International Holdings NV Chief Executive Officer Markus Jooste caused a slump in the price of paintings by famed South African artist Jacob Hendrik Pierneef, according to people familiar with the matter.
Jooste quit as head of Steinhoff the day the global retailer reported accounting irregularities in late 2017, and has since been identified by the retailer as the chief architect of various financial dealings that triggered the company’s near collapse. He’s the subject of an 850 million rand ($58 million) claim for damages by Steinhoff, among other lawsuits, though hasn’t been charged and denies wrongdoing.
A locally known art collector, Jooste has been selling various works through private dealers to raise funds, said the people, who asked not to be named as the transactions aren’t public. He owned a number of works by Pierneef, a prolific landscape painter who died in 1957 and remains a staple of auction houses in Johannesburg and Cape Town, they said.
Source: iol.co.za
