A South African billionaire, Markus Jooste has committed suicide as he was found dead with a gunshot wound near Cape Town.
It was reported that the billionaire shot himself in the head while taking a walk just few minutes from his Stellenbosch home.
The former Steinhoff CEO had been involved in an accounting fraud scandal.
This comes after the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) announced on Wednesday that it had slapped Jooste with a R475 million fine and that it was referring the Steinhoff International Holdings investigation to the National Prosecuting Authority and the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigation (the Hawks) for a criminal investigation.
It said a lengthy investigation “running into hundreds of pages” had found that Jooste and his former European financial director, Dirk Schreiber, had contravened section 81 of the Financial Markets Act.
The financial watchdog said on Wednesday that it had gathered enough evidence to prove that Jooste and Screiber had cooked the books by making “false and misleading statements” to restate the business’s equity by at least R38 billion.
The FSCA commissioner said the “deception” of the senior executives regarding the true value of Steinhoff was “wholly unacceptable” and that it had cost creditors and investors, including pension funds, losses running into hundreds of billions of rands in misplaced investments in the business, while also undermining the stability of financial markets.
Schreiber is serving a two and a half year prison sentence in Germany after a court there found him guilty of accounting violations and aiding credit fraud.
Germany issued an arrest warrant for Jooste after he was charged in the same case but failed to arrive in court to face trial.
Schreiber escaped an administrative penalty after entering into a leniency agreement with the financial watchdog.
The FSCA said the investigation into the business’s dealings is ongoing and also extends to other individuals, who it has not yet named.
Police are investigating, stating that no foul play is suspected.
“It is alleged that the victim sustained a gunshot wound at around 1520 (local time) at Kwaaiwater and succumbed to death on his way to hospital,” Western Cape police spokesperson Colonel Andre Traut said in a statement.
Jooste’s death comes after a fine from the Financial
Sector Conduct Authority for false financial statements linked to Steinhoff’s near-collapse in 2017 due to accounting irregularities.
Peoplesmind