CAPE TOWN — The question this report asks in shrill layman’s language is; did former Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste tip off his close friends to bail-out shortly before his company’s stock collapsed last year, eventually losing investors 96% in share value? There are several probes which will eventually dovetail to give us answers to such claims made by “people familiar with the situation.” Should they prove true, there will be some blood red faces amongst several individuals, trusts and corporate entities – none more so than Jooste himself who confidently told parliamentary committee members a while back that he knows of no financial irregularities on the day he resigned. Note the very specific language used here – and make of it what you will. There’s some complex unravelling to do, but confirming what amounts to insider trading via the good offices of the Financial Sector Conduct Authority will require simply tracing some text/s. Until then the Ginger-Bread Man will enjoy some possibly never-to-be repeated peace and quiet in and around his luxury Hermanus and Stellenbosch luxury bolt holes. – Chris Bateman
The accounts belong to individuals, trusts and corporate entities and the Financial Sector Conduct Authority is looking for evidence of insider trading, it said in a statement Friday. The probe is close to completion.
The news comes after Bloomberg reported that former Steinhoff Chief Executive Officer Markus Jooste advised friends via a mobile-phone text message to sell the retailer’s shares days before the stock collapsed. The regulator has been made aware of the text, two people familiar with the situation said in October. It’s not clear whether anyone acted on its contents.
Steinhoff’s shares have lost more than 96% since the accounting scandal erupted on Dec. 5, 2017, and the owner of Conforama in France and Poundland in the UK has sold assets and restructured about €10bn ($11.4bn) of debt to stave off collapse. Auditors at PwC are reviewing the accounts, but the matter is so complex that their report has been postponed until February.
The trading-accounts investigation is one of three cases the FSCA has registered. The second probe focuses on Steinhoff’s release of audited 2015 and 2016 annual financial statements and its 2017 interim results. The third involves a report by short sellers Viceroy published on Dec. 7, 2017, less than 48 hours after Steinhoff’s shock announcement.
Read also: South Africans pay the price of ignoring red flags; new Steinhoff book
The FSCA is receiving assistance from foreign regulators and has interviewed numerous individuals and obtained “extensive” documentation, it said. Once the PwC probe has been concluded it’s possible that further investigations into insider trading and false and misleading statements may be initiated, the regulator said.
Speaking to lawmakers in Cape Town in September, Jooste, 57, said he wasn’t aware of any financial irregularities on the day he resigned. He instead blamed the crisis on a protracted dispute with Austrian business partner Andreas Seifert, which triggered investigations into Steinhoff by European regulators and tax authorities, which are ongoing.
