Authority imposed a fine
Ex-Steinhoff boss Jooste dies in South Africa
March 22, 2024, 10:34 a.m
Listen to article
This audio version was artificially generated. More info | Send feedback
In the accounting scandal of the Lower Saxony furniture company Steinhoff, the South African authorities imposed a million-dollar fine on former boss Markus Jooste. A day later, the 63-year-old was admitted to the clinic with a gunshot wound to the head. A little later the police reported his death.
According to the South African police, former CEO Markus Jooste, who was involved in an accounting scandal at the furniture company Steinhoff, is dead. The 63-year-old died on Thursday afternoon with a gunshot wound to the head shortly after being taken to a hospital in the coastal town of Hermanus, a police spokesman said. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) also confirmed Jooste’s death. South African media, including the state television broadcaster SABC, reported, citing anonymous sources, that it was a suicide.
The police have initiated an investigation, said the police spokesman. The day before, the South African financial regulator FSCA had imposed a fine of 475 million rand (the equivalent of around 23 million euros) on Jooste. Jooste made false and misleading statements in connection with the Steinhoff accounting scandal, the FSCA said. Jooste would have had to make the payment within a month.
The South African public prosecutor’s office accuses the former CEO of inciting billions of dollars in balance sheet manipulation. The Oldenburg regional court also issued an arrest warrant against Jooste in 2023. At the end of 2017, manipulations at the heavily indebted company, which has its roots in Westerstede in Lower Saxony, became known.
The globally active Steinhoff International Holdings is now headquartered in Amsterdam and is controlled from South Africa. Before its collapse, Steinhoff International Holdings was considered one of the largest retailers in the world.