Four Steinhoff executives on Hawks’ radar

Steinhoff International has provided the SA Police Service with information about a set of transactions involving three more former executives who may have contributed to its accounting crisis, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The retailer has already referred ex-chief executive Markus Jooste for his role in the scandal, which has wiped 96% off the market value. Now Dirk Schreiber, a German national who was head of finance in Europe, can be added to the list, said the people, asking not to be named. Former chief financial officer Ben la Grange and ex-company secretary Stehan Grobler complete the quartet.

Details of the four former executives’ alleged involvement in events leading up to a failure to report audited results for 2017, have emerged during an ongoing investigation by PwC, they said. Three more as-yet-unidentified individuals may also be reported, according to one of the people.

PwC’s forensic report into the accounts is due to be completed by the end of this year. Once the findings are published, formal charges may proceed against anyone implicated, according to a spokesperson for the Hawks.

Inflated profits

Requests for comments were ignored or declined.

Steinhoff said while it handed a report to the Hawks in August requesting that the police investigate a set of transactions, no complaint was made against any individual.

A Steinhoff spokesperson said: “Any speculation of the names and the number of names included in the report is just that.”

While specific details about what caused the crisis have been sparse, Steinhoff has said PwC is particularly focused on certain off-balance-sheet deals and inflated asset values. The company has written off the value of assets by more than $14 billion (R195 billion) over the course of the year, while US unit Mattress Firm filed for bankruptcy on October 5.

Jooste quit in December and Schreiber resigned in July. La Grange and Grobler stepped down from their roles, but remained on the pay roll on shortterm consultancy contracts until late August. – Bloomberg

Any speculation of the names and the number of names included in the report is just that.

A Steinhoff spokesperson