Iwan Peter Schelbert and Hein Odendaal appeared in the Pretoria specialised commercial crimes court on Friday to face fraud charges related to the Steinhoff saga.
Schelbert, 63, from Paarl in the Western Cape, and Odendaal, 67, from Alberton in Gauteng, appeared with their co-accused Stephanus Johannes Grobler, 64, who was previously granted bail of R150,000.
Schelbert and Odendaal were each granted bail of R150,000.
“The three are collectively facing nine counts of fraud worth millions of rand, manipulation of financial statement and failure to report fraudulent activities and racketeering,” National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said.
It is alleged that between 2014 and 2016 the then CEO of Steinhoff, Markus Jooste, who committed suicide last year, and the three accused conducted racketeering activities within the Steinhoff group, as it was captured by certain executive employees.
Steinhoff was a multinational holding company listed in Germany and South Africa which was liquidated on October 13 2023. Its holdings were in the retail sector, primarily in furniture and household goods and included a 43.8% stake in SA Pepkor group.
During 2014 and 2016, it is alleged Jooste played a major role in the management of the criminal enterprise.
“It is alleged that the three created documentation of transactions that supported fraudulent transactions used to inflate and falsify the annual financial statement of the Steinhoff Group.”
Schelbert and Odendaal said in an affidavit to the court they intended to plead not guilty to the offences and would prove their innocence.
The state did not oppose their release on bail because they were not a flight risk.
However, the state asked the court to impose stringent bail conditions.
Magistrate Nicca Setshogoe imposed a number of conditions when granting them bail.
Setshogoe said the accused must not interfere with state witnesses, must report to their closest police station every Monday and hand over their passports to the investigating officer and not apply for new ones.
The case was postponed until May 30 to arrange a trial date.
TimesLIVE
Two more accused appear in court for Steinhoff fraud, racketeering
Image: Bloomberg
Iwan Peter Schelbert and Hein Odendaal appeared in the Pretoria specialised commercial crimes court on Friday to face fraud charges related to the Steinhoff saga.
Schelbert, 63, from Paarl in the Western Cape, and Odendaal, 67, from Alberton in Gauteng, appeared with their co-accused Stephanus Johannes Grobler, 64, who was previously granted bail of R150,000.
Schelbert and Odendaal were each granted bail of R150,000.
“The three are collectively facing nine counts of fraud worth millions of rand, manipulation of financial statement and failure to report fraudulent activities and racketeering,” National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said.
It is alleged that between 2014 and 2016 the then CEO of Steinhoff, Markus Jooste, who committed suicide last year, and the three accused conducted racketeering activities within the Steinhoff group, as it was captured by certain executive employees.
Steinhoff was a multinational holding company listed in Germany and South Africa which was liquidated on October 13 2023. Its holdings were in the retail sector, primarily in furniture and household goods and included a 43.8% stake in SA Pepkor group.
During 2014 and 2016, it is alleged Jooste played a major role in the management of the criminal enterprise.
“It is alleged that the three created documentation of transactions that supported fraudulent transactions used to inflate and falsify the annual financial statement of the Steinhoff Group.”
Schelbert and Odendaal said in an affidavit to the court they intended to plead not guilty to the offences and would prove their innocence.
The state did not oppose their release on bail because they were not a flight risk.
However, the state asked the court to impose stringent bail conditions.
Magistrate Nicca Setshogoe imposed a number of conditions when granting them bail.
Setshogoe said the accused must not interfere with state witnesses, must report to their closest police station every Monday and hand over their passports to the investigating officer and not apply for new ones.
The case was postponed until May 30 to arrange a trial date.
TimesLIVE
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