With about R6 billion, plus interest, from Ibex Investments (formerly Steinhoff) soon to bolster the National Revenue Fund (NRF), will the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) next target the frozen assets of the late former Steinhoff chief executive, Markus Jooste?
In three notices and orders of forfeiture published in the Government Gazette on 19 July, Reserve Bank deputy governor Fundi Tshazibana informed the Steinhoff group of companies that about R6bn across seven local accounts was forfeited to the state. The notices targeted SAHPL (Pty) Limited (Steinhoff Africa Holdings), SIHPL (Pty) Limited (Steinhoff International Holdings), and Ibex Investment Holdings Limited (formerly Steinhoff Investment Holdings).
The forfeited accounts include:
- SAHPL: euro account at Standard Bank (€40.34 million), and two FNB accounts (R311.3m and R223.2m).
- SIHPL: three FNB accounts (R190.9m, R2.23bn, and R2.25bn).
- Ibex Investment: an FNB account (R166.6m).
The orders of forfeiture state that notice was given in terms of the provisions of Exchange Control regulation 22B made under section 9 of the Currency and Exchanges Act. Regulation 22A of the Exchange Regulations permits National Treasury to attach assets linked to or suspected of being linked to contraventions of the regulations.
The forfeited billions will be deposited into the NRF – the central account where all government revenue, such as taxes, fees, and fines, is deposited. Its main purposes are to collect, manage, and allocate public funds for government operations and programmes.
Steinhoff delisted from both the Johannesburg Securities Exchange and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on 13 October 2023. Earlier in the year, Steinhoff’s leadership received approval to transfer its assets, liabilities, and contracts to a new holding company called Ibex. Like Steinhoff, Ibex is managed from South Africa, where it pays taxes, but it is domiciled in the Netherlands. According to Fin24, this asset transfer and delisting were part of a strategy to avoid a protracted liquidation process. In exchange, Steinhoff’s creditors agreed to extend the maturity date of the company’s €10.2bn debt from June 2023 to 2026.
Shareholders’ hopes for any payout have effectively vanished.
Are Jooste’s estate assets next?
The seizure comes just months after the forfeiture of assets belonging to Berdine Odendaal, the alleged lover of Jooste.
In late April and early May 2021, authorities seized the assets because of claims that Odendaal had illegally gained more than R60.5m from Mayfair Speculators (Pty) Ltd, a company of which Jooste was a director.
The money in the accounts and the property were “preserved” while the forfeiture process was being finalised, according to regulation 22B of the Exchange Regulations, to prevent any of the “affiliates” from disposing of the assets.
The SARB gave notice in the Government Gazette (Notice 2426 of 2024) on 16 April of a decision to forfeit to the state cash held in Odendaal’s five accounts with Absa, Capitec, and Standard Bank, amounting to R42m, and her R18m property in Paarl’s Val de Vie estate. This too was to be deposited into the NRF.
Read: Legal precedent set as Odendaal’s assets forfeited in Steinhoff fraud battle
Jooste’s personal assets, along with the family trust, Silver Oak Trust, valued at more than R1.4bn, were frozen by the SARB in October 2022. The disgraced businessman took his life in Hermanus on March 21, just a day before he was supposed to surrender to the Hawks.
Moonstone asked the SARB about the possibility of a similar forfeiture notice and order for Jooste’s assets and those of the Silver Oak Trust.
In response, Thoraya Pandy, divisional head: communications at SARB, said they were not at liberty at this time to disclose specific information on ongoing investigations and legal proceedings.
However, Pandy said, where it is suspected that the provisions of the Exchange Control Regulations have been contravened, the SARB follows the following process:
- Where reasonable grounds exist that contraventions of the Exchange Control Regulations have taken place, an investigation is carried out pertaining to the alleged contraventions. This sometimes results in the attachment of funds and/or assets standing to the credit of an individual or entity.
- An audi alteram partem letter is issued to the person or entity involved, to provide them with an opportunity to make representations regarding the alleged contraventions and reasons why any attached funds and/or assets should not be forfeited to the state. Any representations received are considered before a decision is made.
- Once a decision is made by a delegated functionary, the Notice and Order of Forfeiture is published in the Government Gazette and the involved party is notified thereof.
- Any aggrieved party may make representation or institute court proceedings to review the administrative decision to forfeit the funds and/or assets.
- The above process continues, even if the affected party is deceased. The family or administrator of the late estate has legal recourse, should they not agree with the decision taken by the SARB in this regard.
- The SARB is empowered by the relevant legislative provisions to block or attach or forfeit funds and/or assets.
Creditors knocking at the door
But the SARB isn’t the only one eyeing a slice of Jooste’s personal estate – what’s left of it, that is.
A Netwerk24 report detailed Jooste’s will, dated 25 June 2020, naming his wife, Ingrid, as the sole inheritor. She is set to receive three firearms, eight vehicles worth about R3.5m, various artworks, two insurance policies totalling R501 600, a retirement annuity of R1.5m, and about R73 000 from his Capitec bank account. Jooste’s personal items and art are estimated at R750 000. Notably, no properties are listed in the estate.
Creditors include two individuals, Dorette and Karin van Heerden, owed a combined R887 972, alongside institutions like the South African Revenue Service, the FSCA, and the JSE. The exact amount Jooste owes to creditors is not specified, only that it is disputed.
A day before Jooste reportedly committed suicide on 21 March, the FSCA imposed a R475m penalty on him for making or publishing false, misleading, or deceptive statements about Steinhoff International Holdings. This was in addition to a reduced R20m fine, plus interest, for insider trading, following the Financial Services Tribunal’s decision to set aside the original R162m fine in December 2021.
Additionally, Jooste faced two fines totalling R15m from the JSE in January 2023.
The FSCA has already said it will lodge a claim against Jooste’s estate to recover the half-a-billion rand in penalties the Authority imposed on him.
According to Gerhard van Deventer, the administrative penalties imposed by the FSCA have a similar status to a court judgment in a civil matter, and the Authority is required to take all reasonable steps, including sequestration and liquidation, to obtain the money.
Read: FSCA to act to recover R495m in fines owed by Jooste
Andre Visser, director: Issuer Regulation at JSE, told Moonstone it would first have to assess and decide whether the JSE will lodge a claim against the estate.
“We will only be in a position to do so once we know what his financial position was at the time of his death,” said Visser.
