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SA Class Action Law Suit Vs Steinhoff

Retail giant Steinhoff was revealed to be an unstable house of cards when shocking accounting fraud was finally revealed late last year. Once the first irregularities were revealed the situation snowballed with Directors quitting, The sudden sale of assets to try to stay afloat and the slow unveiling of the true extent of the cunning accounting which had hidden the SA founded company’s rather empty coffers.

Steinhoff was first incorporated in South Africa, then in Netherlands and was eventually listed both on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

Class Action Law Suit

Now three legal firms have launched a class action suit against the firm, former directors (including Mr Jooste) and even several banks such as ABSA, Standard Charted (UK) and Commerzbank (Germany). Other respondents are auditors Deloitte and Rodi & Partner.

Though other shareholders are taking similar action overseas, local SA law in a class action is beneficial in that it automatically includes share holders unless they specifically ‘opt out’ (as opposed to overseas where people have to actively opt in). The class action suit could well end Steinhoff as they are seeking damages for those affected to the tune of R185 Billion.