Former Steinhoff International Chief Executive Markus Jooste has died at the age of 63, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. Jooste, who was at one point heavily involved on the worldwide racing scene through his Mayfair Speculators, died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, the FT reported.
He was fined R475 million (£19,937,078/€23,234,382/$25,229,382) for accounting fraud–due on or before Apr. 19–by South Africa's Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The regulator found that Jooste had published “false or misleading financial statements” following an investigation into the matter. Jooste was also ordered to pay R10 million to reimburse the FSCA for their expenses incurred during their investigation into Steinhoff.
Originally, Jooste resigned from his Steinoff role in December of 2017, following an investigation by the retail holding company into accounting irregularities. The company lost the majority of its value following his departure. However, in 2023 Steinhoff did start a debt restructuring plan to avoid bankruptcy, among other initiatives.
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