Former Steinhoff CFO Ben la Grange is set to appear in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Thursday in what the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has described as “one of the most complex commercial crime cases” it has ever handled.
La Grange faces nine charges of racketeering, fraud, falsifying financial statements and failing to report fraudulent activities. According to the provisional indictment, La Grange and co-accused Stéhan Grobler, a former Steinhoff director, allegedly manipulated financial statements between 2014 and 2017. Both men are accused of playing pivotal roles in the financial misconduct that ultimately led to the company’s collapse.
Grobler is set to appear in the same court on Friday. La Grange has previously stated in an affidavit he intends to plead not guilty.
Steinhoff, a global retailer listed in Germany and SA, became embroiled in a huge accounting scandal in December 2017. Under the leadership of former CEO Markus Jooste, the company overstated its earnings by R100bn through fictitious sales and inflated asset values, deceiving auditors and investors. These actions misled investors into believing Steinhoff was more profitable than it actually was, artificially inflating its stock price.
When the scandal broke, Steinhoff’s share price plummeted by 90%, erasing more than R200bn in market value. The company was officially liquidated in 2023, and Jooste died by alleged suicide a few months later, evading accountability.
In 2022, La Grange was fined R2m by the JSE for breaching listing rules by creating an invoice worth millions. While he claimed he was unaware that the income was fraudulent, the JSE concluded he had failed to exercise the required due care and skill in handling the transaction.
On August 29 2018, La Grange testified before parliament, distancing himself from Jooste. He told the finance standing committee that he and Jooste were “strictly business colleagues” and “not friends” who socialised outside of the business environment. He also maintained certain transactions had been concealed from him and the company.
Thursday’s proceedings follow last week’s plea deal by Dr Gerhardus Burger), a long-standing associate of Jooste. Burger received a five-year suspended sentence after pleading guilty to insider trading, marking the first conviction in the Steinhoff case.
He is expected to testify against La Grange and Grobler. In June, La Grange was released on R150,000 bail under strict conditions, including weekly check-ins at the Sandton police station, surrendering his passport and restrictions on leaving Gauteng without notifying authorities.
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