Moneyweb
The Financial Services Conduct Authority said it had imposed fines on former Steinhoff boss, Markus Jooste and three others of around R241m for “insider trading related breaches”.
In a lengthy statement on Friday, the FSCA said it had imposed “an administrative penalty of R161 568 068 on Mr Markus Johannes Jooste for breaches of section 78 (4) (a) and section 78 (5) of the Financial Markets Act, 19 of 2012 (the Financial Markets Act).”
“The provisions prohibit, respectively, an insider from disclosing inside information and/or encouraging or discouraging another person to deal in securities which the inside information relates to,” the FSCA said.
It said that the insider trading breaches were in respect of share transactions in Steinhoff International Holdings NV (Steinhoff) during November and December 2017.
The administrative penalty imposed on Jooste is pursuant to an investigation by the Authority. The probe found that on 30 November 2017, shortly before the much-publicised significant decrease in the market value of Steinhoff shares, Jooste was privy to Steinhoff related inside information.
“Whilst privy to inside information, he disclosed some of the information in a “warning SMS” encouraging four individuals close to him to dispose of their Steinhoff shares prior to the publication of some of the inside information to the rest of the market,” the Authority said.
The FSCA said three recipients acted on his disclosure and encouragement and sold Steinhoff shares.
The recipients of the warning SMS was Dr Gerhardus Diedericks Burger, Jooste’s chauffeur, Marthinus Swiegelaar, who was fined R18 328, a late former friend, Ockie Oosthuizen and the other was a company, Oscan Investment Enterprises.
Jooste was held “jointly and severally” liable with the other two, so, according to the FSCSA, he is effectively solely liable for R122 927 366 out of the R161 568 068.
Effectively the fines for the breaches of section 78 (4) (a) and section 78 (5) of the Financial Markets Act, 19 of 2012 comes to R241 million for all four.
