The late Markus Jooste. (Brenton Geach/Gallo Images/Getty Images)
The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) imposed R943.4 million in administrative penalties on 31 persons during its past financial year, a more than ninefold increase compared to the previous year.
More than half that amount was imposed on former Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste for market abuse contraventions, with the regulator saying it will now seek payment from the late fraudster’s estate following his death by suicide in March. The FSCA hit Jooste with R475 million in penalties just days before his death. This was over his role in masterminding a grand fraud that almost sank Steinhoff, though the regulator warned at the time it expected a long legal fight to obtain payment of the money, which included a R10-million reimbursement for its investigation costs.
Gerhard van Deventer, divisional executive of the FSCA’s enforcement division, said that as opposed to a criminal penalty that dies with the individual, the FSCA’s penalty constituted a civil execution and that it would now seek settlement from Jooste’s estate.
South Africans need to be in the know if we want to create a prosperous future. News24 has kept the country informed for 25 years, and we’re about to enter a new chapter of fearless journalism. Join our free subscription trial to unlock this story and a world of news aimed to inform, empower, and inspire.