Cape Town — Former Steinhoff CEO, Markus Jooste, continues to make headlines as those he left behind are still trying to pick up the pieces following his tragic death by suicide.
Jooste shot himself near his lavish home in Hermanus last month, just one day after he was hit with a mammoth R475 million fine by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) for publishing false and misleading financial statements between 2014 and 2017.
Since his passing, those left to deal with with Jooste’s troubled past have been affected the most. Jooste’s alleged co-conspirators now have to face the music alone, including top executives accused of inflating the retailer’s profit and assets, EWN reported.
Jooste died before he was set to face the consequences of what became known as the biggest financial scandal in the history of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).
ALSO READ | Jooste death won’t affect Steinhoff investigation – FSCA
Retail tycoon Christo Wiese, who had a stake in the business, is among those who lost out big, but he said he’s picking up the pieces.
“I decided to carry on with my life and not necessarily try to recoup the money I lost, but to stay busy and try to continue to make a contribution.” he said.
Meanwhile, Jooste’s wife, Ingrid, was revealed to be the sole heir of Jooste’s will and inheritance, and was left with a number of items including seven of his vehicles, three firearms, a number of art pieces, two policies, his will, retirement annuity and close to R74,000 in cash, IOL reported.
The will left Ingrid R1.6 million in an Old Mutual retirement annuity and two Momentum policies worth R1 million. Whether Ingrid will receive any of it remains to be seen as the FSCA still tries to recover as much as it can from the R475 million fine.
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) also seized R60 million worth of assets from Jooste’s ex-girlfriend, Bernadine Odendaal. R42.2 million in standing capital was taken, while a luxurious R18 million estate, Val De Vie, in the Western Cape, was also seized.
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
