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Mention the word ‘Steinhoff’ and most of us think of Markus Jooste.

As we should, because the former CEO was at the forefront of a scandal that saw Steinhoff’s share price plunge by more than 95%, wiping out tens of billions of rands in shareholder value in the process.

Just ask Christo Wiese, although he did eventually end up receiving a payout after a settlement earlier this year.

Jooste couldn’t and didn’t operate alone and now former Steinhoff CFO Ben la Grange (above) has been publicly censured by the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).

The JSE hit la Grange with fines totalling R2 million and also barred him from being a director of a JSE-listed company for a period of 10 years.

Here’s Fin24:

La Grange, who served as CFO under the group’s former head Markus Jooste, was found to have processed a handwritten invoice for €23.5 million (about R376 million at the time) handed to him by Markus Jooste in 2016, that the JSE found was fictitious.

“There was no actual transaction nor any legitimate commercial reason that supported the information or calculations contained in the handwritten document,” it said.

The JSE found that La Grange, who said he was not aware at the time that the invoice was false, should have tried harder to check if it was genuine.

The fine would likely have been far bigger, said the JSE, had la Grange not acknowledged that he erred in failing to “apply more scrutiny to evaluate the transaction”.

Moneyweb reports that the R2 million in total fines consists of a R1 million fine for Steinhoff financial statements “which did not comply with IFRS and was incorrect, false and misleading” and another R1 million for “breaches of the Listings Requirements in respect of the Steinhoff at Work Transaction”.

So, when will the hammer fall on Markus Jooste? According to Steinhoff CEO Louis du Preez, the company is waiting on a court date to move forward with recouping money from its former boss. This via a Fin24 story from late July:

Steinhoff is seeking to claw back around R850 million in salaries, bonuses, and other incentives it paid its former CEO in a civil case.

Image: Getty Images

Jooste, who is opposing the application, has denied any wrongdoing.

“The pleadings have closed, the steps now are to start preparing for trial and for the court to allocate a court date,” Du Preez told a briefing with investors on Friday afternoon in Stellenbosch.

Jooste denying any wrongdoing tells you all you need to know about the man. Whatever happened with his alleged mistress?

Alongside that civil case, he’s also being investigated by the Hawks, although charges have yet to be formally announced.

[sources:fin24&moneyweb&fin24]