The Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court has sentenced a former director and board member of Steinhoff at Work, Iwan Peter Schelbert, to five years’ direct imprisonment for fraud.
The 63-year-old from Paarl in the Western Cape was convicted for fraud exceeding R376 million after entering into a plea and sentence agreement with the state.
Fraudulent R376 million invoice
According to National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana, the former director generated a fraudulent invoice to Switzerland-based company TG Sources SARL on 21 November 2016.
He was acting on the instructions from Steinhoff’s then chief financial officer, Andries Benjamin la Grange.
“Following the generation of the invoice, [former executive director] Stephanus Johannes Grobler and others created supporting documentation and caused payments to be effected to falsely represent that the invoice reflected a legitimate transaction between Steinhoff at Work and TG Sources SARL,” Mahanjana said.
“This fraudulent scheme resulted in the inflation of Steinhoff’s financial statements by more than R376 million.”
Previous convictions in Steinhoff matter
She said the NPA and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) welcomed the conviction and sentence, which marked the third conviction secured in the Steinhoff matter.
This includes la Grange’s 10-year sentence in October 2024.
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However, five years of his sentence were suspended after he pleaded guilty to fraud.
In a separate development, Gerhardus Diedricks Burger – the company’s former physician – was convicted of insider trading in September 2024.
At the time, the NPA said the 79-year-old received a five-year prison sentence and was required to testify against his accomplices.
Ongoing prosecutions
Mahanjana said the latest outcome demonstrates the NPA and the Hawks’ commitment to hold perpetrators accountable in “one of the largest and most complex” corporate fraud cases in South Africa’s history.
“The investigation and prosecution of this matter required extensive collaboration and technical expertise due to its scale and complexity,” she said.
The case against the remaining accused, Hein Odendaal, 67, and Stephanus Johannes Grobler, 64, has been postponed to 6 February 2026 for further proceedings.
Odendaal and Grobler are both former Steinhoff executives.
The convictions came after Steinhoff’s unscrupulous activities were uncovered in 2017 when auditors refused to sign off on the 2016 annual financial statements.
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Investigations revealed that the company’s executives created fictitious transactions worth 6.5 billion euros (R197 billion), which significantly impacted share prices on both the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and Frankfurt Security Exchange.
According to Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Singo, during the financial years from 2014 until 2016.
“The allegations became known in 2017, and during that period the value of Steinhoff shares dropped significantly, resulting in substantial prejudice to the investors who became victims of these fraudulent activities,” Singo said.
He said the revelation led to a Stock Exchange News Service (SENS) announcement by the Steinhoff Group, informing shareholders that further investigation was required due to accounting irregularities.
Former CEO Markus Jooste’s death
The case took a dramatic turn in March 2024 with the death of former Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste.
His death came shortly after the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) imposed a R475 million penalty.
According to the NPA, Jooste allegedly took his own life after learning of pending arrest warrants.
Additional reporting by Enkosi Selane.
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