Steinhoff: Crime and no punishment
SA’s worst accounting scandal: will anyone ever take the fall for causing Steinhoff’s dramatic collapse?
When Steinhoff chair Heather Sonn told a joint sitting of three parliamentary committees at the end of January that the company had reported former CEO Markus Jooste to the Hawks, a frisson of excitement ran through the parliamentary precinct. At last it seemed corporate SA was intent on moving fast to call one of its own to account. Five months later, it’s difficult not to suspect Sonn was merely hoping to calm the righteous anger of the parliamentarians. The clamour for someone to be held accountable for the R188bn wiped off Steinhoff’s share price since December 6 escalated this week, after the company released horrifying (unaudited) financials for the six months to March. This revealed how €12.8bn had been written off the value of the company’s assets, as well as dramatic restatements of its financials. This time last year, Steinhoff said it clocked up operating profit of €885m for the half-year to March 2017. Now it says it should have reported an operating loss of €168m for th...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.