Hawks make another breakthrough in Steinhoff case after suspect arrested
The 79-year-old suspect will be joining Steinhoff's former head of legal, Stephan Grobler, who was arrested in March, and former CFO Andries 'Ben' la Grange, who was handcuffed in June, in the dock.
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JOHANNESBURG - The Hawks have made another breakthrough in the Steinhoff case following the arrest of a 79-year-old suspect.
Law enforcement has been investigating fraud committed at the multinational retail giant.
The company's former CEO, Markus Jooste, was accused of using fake transactions to inflate the group's profits.
Jooste evaded arrest after he died by suicide earlier in 2024, a day before he was meant to hand himself over to police.
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The suspect will make his first appearance in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Thursday.
The 79-year-old suspect will be joining Steinhoff's former head of legal, Stephan Grobler, who was arrested in March, and former CFO Andries 'Ben' la Grange, who was handcuffed in June, in the dock.
“The arrest emanates from an ongoing investigation into Steinhoff, where in November 2017, the then Chief Executive Officer, the late Markus Jooste, is said to have shared information on the selling of Steinhoff shares before they fell,” said Hawks spokesperson Katlego Mogale.
“Allegations are that the suspect received a tip-off from Jooste in order to sell his shares before their price dropped due to irregularities in the Steinhoff financial statements.”
It’s alleged that in 2017, the suspect in question issued an instruction for more than 39,000 shares to be sold. He’s facing three counts of insider trading.