UPDATE: Suspect pleads guilty after being arrested for Steinhoff insider trading

The Hawks have made a breakthrough and arrested another suspect in the ongoing Steinhoff investigation.

The suspect was arrested after the Hawks’ serious economic offences unit executed a warrant on Thursday morning.

Steinhoff suspect arrested

Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale said 79-year-old Gehardus Burger appeared in the Pretoria Specialised Crimes Court on Thursday and pleaded guilty to all three charges.

Mogale added that Burger was sentenced to five years imprisonment, which was suspended for five years.

“The court also ordered that the monies accrued from the sale of the shares be forfeited to the state.”

The arrest comes amid an ongoing investigation into Steinhoff. In November 2017, the late Markus Jooste, who was chief executive officer at the time, is said to have shared information about selling Steinhoff shares before the price fell. 

“Allegations are that the suspect received a tipoff from Jooste in order to sell his shares before their price dropped due to irregularities in the Steinhoff financial statements,” Mogale said.

ALSO READ: Steinhoff Ex-CFO released on R150k bail months after CEO’s death

Charges

Mogale said the suspect in 2017 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 79-year-old suspect is charged with three counts of contravention of the Financial Markets Act (insider trading). His arrest follows the arrest of Stephanus Johannes Grobler, who has since been released on bail and is due back in court on the 4 October 2024,” Mogale said.

Other suspects

Steinhoff’s former chief financial officer, Ben la Grange, who was arrested in June, was also granted R150 000 bail.

The 49-year-old appeared in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court following his arrest.

La Grange, who worked closely with Jooste, has been charged with two counts of racketeering, five counts of fraud, one count of corruption and three counts of the contravention of the Financial Markets Act.

He previously said he was working with authorities as they investigated questionable transactions at the company that owned Conforama in France and Mattress Firm in the US.

La Grange appeared in court alongside Grobler, who handed himself over to the Hawks in late March.

Markus Jooste suicide

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and Hawks in March secured arrest warrants for Jooste, the ex-CEO of the retailer, and Grobler. The two men were named as the lead suspects involved in Steinhoff’s 2017 collapse.

Jooste allegedly took his own life on 21 March, after being notified of the arrest warrants.

Western Cape police in April told The Citizen that the death of Jooste was still under investigation and refuted claims that they are withholding information on the matter.

This comes after it was reported that police allegedly refused to provide details of the probe into Jooste’s death.

ALSO READ: Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste’s death still under investigation, police say [VIDEO]