OF TEXTS AND SMOKING GUNS

Revelations that Steinhoff’s former CEO tipped off friends to sell shares, as relations with Deloitte soured, are damning

It seemed an (almost) impossible story, the bombshell claim last week that the smooth and ultra-diligent Markus Jooste would do something as stupid as tipping off friends about the imminent collapse of Steinhoff in November last year.

Last week, Bloomberg reported how Jooste sent a text message to a friend telling him there was likely to be bad news coming, so it would be a good time to sell Steinhoff shares.

This, remember, was around Thursday November 30 — five days before Jooste resigned and Steinhoff’s share price tumbled 61% in a single day. More losses followed.

It’s a damning story — perhaps equal in gravity to the claims being investigated by forensic auditor

PWC that Jooste had created fake “buying groups” to recycle nonexistent rebates back into Steinhoff.

And, as it turns out, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), which is responsible for regulating insider trading, is investigating that very SMS.

Gerhard van Deventer, the head of market abuse at the FSCA, confirmed that “we are investigating the SMS leg” as one of three Steinhoff market-abuse investigations.

It almost seems impossible that the ultra-diligent Jooste could do something as stupid as tipping off friends about the imminent collapse of Steinhoff