The South Africa Reserve Bank Sarb has ordered the Steinhoff group of companies to forfeit up to R6 billion held in its bank accounts, four months after the death of former CEO Markus Jooste and weeks after Ben la Grange, the companys former chief financial officer was arrested and released on bail.
The scandal around the collapse of Steinhoff erased more than R200bn from the JSE, cost pensioners hundreds of millions of rand, with the Public Investment Corporation also losing up to R21bn in investments.
South African regulators also fined the leadership of the company including Jooste while the company has now forfeited vast amounts in accounts linked to it.
On Friday, Sarb deputy governor for the prudential cluster, Fundi Tshazibana, said in a government Gazette that Steinhoff was forfeiting the amounts, totalling R6bn plus interest into the National Revenue Fund.
The orders of forfeiture were published against Steinhoff companies SAHPL Limited, also known as Steinhoff Africa Holdings, and SIHPL under the title Steinhoff International Holdings, as well as Ibex Investment Holdings Limited, previously known as Steinhoff Investment Holdings, and which has now evolved into the current Steinhoff entity.
