A 79-year-old man has been arrested in connection with allegations of Insider Trading at Steinhoff.
Colonel Katlego Mogale spokesperson for the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigation (known as Hawks) said the pensioner was arrested early on Thursday while they were executing a warrant.
The suspect is expected to appear in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court later on Thursday.
“The arrest emanates from an ongoing investigation into Steinhoff, where in November 2017, the then Chief Executive Officer, the late Markus Jooste, is said to have shared information on the selling of Steinhoff shares before they fell,” said Mogale.
“Allegations are that the suspect received a tip off from Jooste in order to sell his shares before their price dropped due to irregularities in the Steinhoff financial statements.”
It is further alleged that in 2017, the suspect instructed that over 39,000 of Steinhoff shares be sold.
“The suspect knew that Jooste was Steinhoff CEO and, by virtue of his employ, had inside information at the time.”
The man faces three counts of Contravention of the Financial Markets Act (Insider Trading).
In March, Stephanus Johannes Grobler was arrested in connection with the same matter.
Grobler faces charges of fraud, a pattern of racketeering activities and contravention of Financial Markets Act against Steinhoff International Holdings.
The Hawks said Grobler was released on bail and is due in court on October 4, 2024.
Jooste died in March this year allegedly by suicide. An inquest docket has been opened.
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