The Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Monday granted former Steinhoff director Stephanus Johannes Grobler (64) R150,000 bail.

Grobler and former Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste had been asked to present themselves in court last Friday to face charges of racketeering, three counts of fraud involving R21-billion, manipulation of financial statements and failure to report fraudulent activities. 

Grobler, who spent the weekend in jail, faced the music alone after Jooste committed suicide last week. 

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) noted the following allegations in a statement issued on Monday:

• Between 2014 and 2016, Jooste and Grobler conducted racketeering activities within the Steinhoff group;
• During that period, Jooste played a major role in the management of the criminal enterprise; and
• Grobler created documentation of transactions that supported the fraudulent transactions used to inflate and falsify the annual financial statement of the Steinhoff Group.

Grobler told the court on Monday via an affidavit that he intended to plead not guilty to the charges, and would prove his innocence. He further asked the court to release him on bail. 

“However, the State opposed his bail application because Grobler committed a very serious offence, which carries a penalty clause of a billion rand or a life sentence. Furthermore, the prosecutor told the court that the accused was a flight risk because he is a citizen of the world with business connections all over the world,” the NPA said. 

However, magistrate Nicca Setshogoe granted Grobler bail of R150,000 on condition that:

• He reports to the Brooklyn Police Station in Pretoria twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays;
• He hands over his two passports to the investigating officer and does not apply for a new one;
• He hands over his two firearms to the police;
• He does not leave Gauteng without informing the investigating officer; and
• He does not interfere with State witnesses.

The matter was postponed to 26 June for the finalisation of investigations.  

According to the Steinhoff annual report for 2016, Grobler was part of Steinhoff’s executive committee. Grobler worked for Steinhoff for around 19 years, in various roles including company secretary and director of treasury and financing. 

A guide to the Steinhoff scandal

• Steinhoff’s share price plunged in December 2017 when Jooste abruptly resigned as CEO after auditors flagged accounting irregularities in its financial documents.
• Jooste appeared before Parliament where he insisted there had been no accounting irregularities at Steinhoff.
• In October 2020, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) imposed a penalty of R161.6-million on Jooste for breaching the Financial Markets Act. The fine was later reduced to R20-million.
• The SA Reserve Bank received a court order to attach assets valued at about R1.4-billion, including the Lanzerac Wine Estate in Stellenbosch and the Jooste family’s Silver Oak Trust.
• The Reserve Bank attached the assets of Jooste’s girlfriend Berdine Odendaal, totalling about R25-million, including properties in Val de Vie, Paarl.
• German authorities issued an arrest warrant when Jooste didn’t show up to stand trial on charges of accounting fraud.
• Earlier this month, the FSCA hit Jooste with a R475-million fine.
• The NPA was preparing criminal charges against Jooste. DM