Ex-Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste dead: report

Former Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste has reportedly died, according to NewzroomAfrika.

The group reported on Thursday evening (21 March 2024) that Jooste committed suicide, citing sources close to the executive.

NewzroomAfrika said that the former CEO did so while being arrested.

Earlier this week, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) fined Jooste R475 million as part of its investigations into his role surrounding fraud at Steinhoff International.

Jooste and several other directors were identified in various investigations and ongoing court proceedings – in South Africa and in Germany – as being behind the fraud and eventual collapse of Steinhoff.

Among the allegations against him, he was accused of insider trading and fraudulently booking proceeds from fake transactions at Steinhoff units between 2011 and 2015.

As a litany of inflated profit and asset values emerged, Steinhoff was forced to sell off a range of global retail assets to raise funds and had to pay back billions to investors who lost money investing in the group.

The FSCA went after Jooste at the end of 2022 on insider trading charges, alleging that the former CEO sent warning SMSes to other executives encouraging them to sell their shares in the company before the crash.

Details around Jooste’s reported death are still limited.

Read: Ex-Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste slapped with R475 million fine