The JSE has publicly censured former Steinhoff Chief Financial Officer, Ben La Grange, and imposed fines of R2 million for breaching the bourse's listing requirements.
In a Sens notice on Friday, the JSE said La Grange was also barred from being a director of any listed company for the next ten years.
The censure and fine follow the JSE's ongoing investigation into accounting irregularities at Steinhoff which led to the fines of R13.5 million rand being imposed on the company in October 2020.
The JSE investigation into La Grange related to a handwritten document from former CEO, Markus Jooste, indicating pro-rate contributions which subsidiary, Steinhoff at Work, would be entitled to receive from a company called TG Group, amounting to €23.5 million.
However, the JSE probe found that "there was no actual transaction nor any legitimate commercial reason that supported the information or calculations contained in the handwritten document" and that the subsequent invoices generated were "false."
"The JSE found that La Grange’s actions and failure to comply with important provisions of the Listings Requirements were one of the causes of the publication and dissemination of material misstatements to
the Steinhoff group’s 2016 consolidated financial statements and its statement of financial position as at
1 July 2015."
In its censure, the JSE said La Grange "ought to have known, that due to the numerous accounting irregularities, Steinhoff’s previously published financial information failed to comply with IFRS and was incorrect, false and misleading in material respects."
The investigation into the conduct of other individuals that presided at the Company during the periods
in question and who were bound by the Listings Requirements is ongoing.
