In a significant development surrounding the Steinhoff accounting scandal, the Regional Court of Oldenburg in Germany has issued an arrest warrant for Markus Jooste, the scandal-plagued South African billionaire at the center of the Steinhoff accounting scandal.
The news comes weeks after Jooste failed to appear in court, marking his first criminal charge since the collapse of Steinhoff five years ago.
Jooste is facing accusations of committing accounting fraud between 2011 and 2014, which ultimately led to the financial downfall of Steinhoff, the largest private sector fraud scandal in South Africa’s history.
The recent court proceedings in Oldenburg, Germany, spanned over 10 days, during which Jooste ignored court orders and failed to present himself.
His attorney, Bernd Gross, cited his inability to travel due to restricted access to his passport, as he faces more significant probes and allegations in South Africa than in Germany.
The accounting practices of Steinhoff have been under scrutiny since 2014, with allegations of insider trading traced back to the company’s initial public offering in 1998.
In March 2021, Jooste and three colleagues were charged by German prosecutors with balance sheet fraud.
The charges are linked to a fraudulent deal in 2010, where Jooste and his colleagues falsely claimed to trade “know-how,” resulting in a substantial boost in revenues for a Steinhoff subsidiary.
Jooste’s involvement in the Steinhoff scandal and his subsequent resignation in December 2017 triggered a sharp decline in the company’s share price, causing significant losses for investors and employees alike.
Adding to the ongoing legal troubles, South African billionaire Christo Wiese, who previously worked with Jooste at Steinhoff, has obtained permission from the Western Cape High Court to proceed with his lawsuit against his former colleague.
The lawsuit aims to regain control of the esteemed Lanzerac wine estate, which Wiese sold to a foreign consortium in 2012 in exchange for Steinhoff shares.
The controversy surrounding the Lanzerac wine estate dates back to 2012 when Wiese sold the historic property to a foreign consortium for approximately R220 million ($11 million) worth of Steinhoff shares.
The value of these shares has drastically declined to less than $40,000 today, prompting Wiese to take legal action.
Wiese alleges that Jooste initially represented a consortium of third-party investors during the 2011 deal.
However, it has now become evident that Jooste was involved in the transaction from its inception.
