Steinhoff’s Markus Jooste died from gunshot wound to the head on Kwaaiwater cliff path

In a shock twist of events in the Steinhoff scandal, police confirmed that the multinational holding company’s former CEO, Markus Jooste, took his life on a footpath close to his luxury mansion in the seaside town of Hermanus.

Jooste’s holiday home is situated in an area called Kwaaiwater, between the town centre and Voëlklip, and is considered to be the most expensive and exclusive property in Hermanus.

Markus Jooste hit with R475m fine

His death comes a day after he was fined R475 million by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA).

The market conduct regulator found that Jooste and Steinhoff‘s former European finance chief, Dirk Schreiber, were responsible for publishing deceptive statements about Steinhoff International’s financial position between 2014 and 2017.

This meant investors based their decision on false information, which resulted in hundreds of billions of rand in losses, also by pension funds.

ALSO READ: FSCA fines Markus Jooste R475 million, refers case to Hawks

Hawks waiting in the wings…

A source close to the matter told News24 that the 63-year-old Jooste, as well as former Steinhoff International company secretary and head of legal Stéhan Grobler, were told on Wednesday that they had to hand themselves over to the Hawks on Friday. 

Jooste’s tragic Kwaaiwater suicide

Jooste apparently told his wife he was going for a walk as she was leaving their house for a round of golf.

Daily Maverick reported that, according to a reliable source, the disgraced former CEO shot himself in the head on a footpath in front of a neighbour’s home close to the beach.

An eyewitness told the publication that emergency personnel found him lying partially on the cliff path where they attached drips before carrying Jooste with a heavily bandaged head on a stretcher to an ambulance.

Police confirms suicide

According to Western Cape police spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Malcom Pojie, members of the police members were called out to a scene at a beach on Thursday in Hermanus, where a 63-year-old man has succumbed to a gunshot wound to the head. 

He was still alive at the time and was transported to the Hermanus Mediclinic, and he succumbed a few minutes after arrival.

“An inquest docket was opened by Hermanus police for further investigation; no foul play is suspected at this time.”

ALSO READ: JSE bars Steinhoff’s Markus Jooste for 20 years, fines him R15m

Markus Jooste’s rise and fall

• Jooste qualified as a chartered accountant in his 20s. His stellar business career began when he became the financial director of GommaGomma at the age of 27.
• While at GommaGomma, his path crossed with master German entrepreneur Claas Daun who mentored the young Jooste.
• He convinced Daun in 1998 to merge his business with that of Bruno Steinhoff in Europe, and to list Steinhoff International on the JSE.
• Jooste and Daun acted as non-executive directors of Steinhoff International from 1988 with Jooste becoming its CEO in 2000.
• The company listed in Germany and the Netherlands, and the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) poured billions of rands into acquiring Steinhoff shares, funded by the Government Employees’ Pension Fund money. 
• Fast-forward to 2016 when the conglomerate  owned more than 40 retail outlets, employed 130 000 people on five continents, and had become the second-largest home goods retailer in Europe after Ikea.
• Between 2014 to 2017, Jooste earned more than R651 million from Steinhoff International alone.
• Jooste resigned from Steinhoff in December 2017 amid allegations of fraud and corruption, triggering a near-collapse that wiped out R200 billion in pension fund money and other investments as investors realised its financial statements were manipulated.

NOW READ: How involved was Jooste in Steinhoff’s irregular practices?