German prosecutors have asked for an arrest warrant for former Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste although the Oldenburg court has not yet made a decision, the media release from the courthouse reveals.
Jooste is linked to SA’s biggest fraud in which the Steinhoff share lost over R200bn in value after auditors refused to sign off the accounts.
This was to be Jooste’s first court appearance and he has not yet been charged in SA for his role in the fraud which affected hundreds of thousands of pensioners and institutional investors in SA and Europe.
Jooste did not appear in the Oldenburg court on Tuesday, according to the media release, which was written in German.
German media agency DPA-AFX reported he has been charged with creating fake transactions to inflate balance sheets, but he has denied this.
According to the release, the prosecutor applied for the suspension of proceedings and the issuance of an arrest warrant. The court suspended the case and will decide whether to issue a warrant. If an arrest warrant were to be issued, Jooste could be extradited.
Not speaking on the specific case, lawyer Gary Eisenberg said: “The European Convention on Extradition would apply. SA and Germany are members.”
DPA-AFX reported Jooste did not appear as he had agreed with authorities to stay in SA, while News24 reported that his lawyer told the court he had handed his passport over to authorities.
However, National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga said Jooste had not had to hand over his passport as he had yet to appear in court.
Jooste has not been criminally charged nor had he to apply for bail, which is usually required before a passport must be handed over.
The Hawks and SA Reserve Bank also do not have his passport, they confirmed.
More than R1.4bn of Jooste’s assets were seized by the SA Reserve Bank in October, including his house and cars belonging to his wife, some art and jewellery.
He is not able to sell the goods in case there is a successful prosecution and the authorities wish to confiscate his assets.
While Jooste evades justice, Steinhoff debt exceeds it assets by €3.5bn (R70bn) and has been battling to survive with debtors, who are owed €10.2bn likely to take over the company in a court-approved insolvency process, leaving shareholders with nothing.
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