Allegations are that the suspect received a tip off from Jooste to sell his shares before their price dropped due to irregularities in the Steinhoff financial statements, the Hawks said.
By Nicola Mawson
Gerhardus Burger, an associate of former Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste, has pled guilty, to three charges, of insider trading in contravention of the Financial Markets Act, and was sentenced to five years imprisonment.
However, the pensioner’s sentence was suspended for five years on condition that he does not commit the same crime in that period.
He appeared in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court earlier today.
The Hawks are currently investigating events around Steinhoff’s liquidation, which is the biggest corporate scandal in South Africa to date. Jooste, it said in a statement, shared information Steinhoff shares before they fell as the company collapsed.
Allegations are that the suspect received a tip off from Jooste to sell his shares before their price dropped due to irregularities in the Steinhoff financial statements, the Hawks said.
It stated that, in 2017, Burger instructed that more than 39 000 of Steinhoff shares be sold based on his inside information. The court also ordered that the profit accrued from the sale of the shares be forfeited to the state.
Burger was arrested this morning by the Hawks’ Serious Economic Offences unit executing a warrant. His arrest follows the arrest of Stephanus Johannes Grobler who has since been released on bail and is due back in court on the October 4, 2024.
BUSINESS REPORT