Christo Wiese is not pulling any punches when it comes to defending his legacy, refuting claims that he knew about the accounting irregularities at Steinhoff as "insane". Wiese, the largest shareholder in the crumbling retail empire, has rejected claims about his role in imploding the retail empire. "Can you imagine someone knowing the statements for which he is acting have been falsified but willingly writes a cheque for R59-billion to invest in that? I find it ludicrous that people can't see this," he said. Wiese made significant losses in Steinhoff after it lost over 90% of its value, putting it in the top three worst-performing companies on the JSE this year. But when he issued a summons against the retailer for about R59-billion in cash investments made in 2015 and 2016, which were backed by Steinhoff shares, the market grew suspicious. Wiese has been the primary advocate of restructuring the business's African unit, which includes crown-jewel Pepkor. He joined Pepkor when it h...
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