Ex-Steinhoff executive Stephanus Grobler in Court
Former Steinhoff executive, Stephanus Grobler, is appearing in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in connection with multi-billion rand fraud at Steinhoff .
This comes after a warrant of arrest was issued against him, and former Steinhof CEO Markus Johannes Jooste on Wednesday.
Jooste allegedly committed suicide on Thursday.
Hawks spokesperson Thandi Mbambo, says the suspects were expected to hand themselves over at the Pretoria Central Police Station.
"The allegations include amongst others fraud, a pattern of racketeering activities and contravention of Financial Markets Act against Steinhoff International Holdings."
"The exit routes were secured before the message of securing their attendance in court was shared with the defence to ensure that none of the suspects leave the borders."
"After being notified of the arrest warrants, Mr Jooste allegedly committed suicide on the afternoon of 21 March 2024. Mr Grobler appeared in court this morning on the said charges" she added.
Jooste was slapped with a R475 million fine by the country's financial market watchdog, Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FCSA), for faking transactions to artificially inflate the group's profits.
The FCSA's issued an April 19 deadline for the payment.
Steinhoff was put under investigation in 2017 on suspicion of fraud, Jooste resigned but denied any knowledge of accounting fraud.
The company saw nearly 98 percent of its share value wiped out as it faced a barrage of litigation from aggrieved shareholders and business partners, including former chairman.
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