A visiting Professor at the Wits School of Economics and Business Sciences, Jannie Rossouw says South African authorities should have sought to bring back the former Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste to face the charges against him.
German Prosecutors have applied for an arrest warrant against Jooste after he failed to make his first court appearance on Tuesday.
Jooste was scheduled to face his first criminal case in Germany over the accounting irregularities of various subsidiaries of the company. The public prosecutor’s office in Oldenburg applied for the suspension of the proceedings and the issuing of an arrest warrant.
The trial is the first criminal charge against Jooste to be heard since Steinhoff’s collapse five years ago over an accounting scandal. Steinhoff is listed on both the Johannesburg and Frankfurt Stock Exchanges.
Rossouw says there’s no justification for Jooste to remain in Germany.
“There’s no reason for the South African authorities not to ensure that Jooste is returned. I cannot think of any reason that he cannot be returned to South Africa. We have not had any explanation on why Jooste is not being tried by South African criminal authorities. Jooste has faced other charges in South Africa from other regulatory authorities in terms of financial misconduct but not by the South African authorities,” adds Rossouw.
Discussions with legal expert Nthabiseng Dubazana
