Latest news with #Steinhoff
Zawya
6 hours ago
- Business
- Zawya
South Africa: Ibex sells 28% stake in Pepkor Holdings
Ibex Investment Holdings, formerly known as Steinhoff International Holdings, will exit its 28% stake in clothing retailer, Pepkor Holdings. The company will offer one billion shares, worth about R28bn, according to the terms of the deal published Monday, 21 July 2025. Demand for the shares exceeded the stock being offered within minutes of the transaction launching, the terms show. Steinhoff changed its name to Ibex Investment Holdings in 2023. It holds the Pepkor stake through its wholly-owned unit Ainsley. The company has been restructuring since Steinhoff, the former owner of Conforama in France and Mattress Firm in the US, collapsed after auditors refused to sign off on its financial statements in late 2017. That led to the start of police and regulatory investigations in both Europe and South Africa. A forensic probe by auditor PwC uncovered approximately €6.5bn ($7.6bn) of irregular transactions with eight firms over eight years. Pepkor, which owns almost 6,000 stores selling low-cost clothing, is tapping a pan-African boom in the use of phones for payment and banking services as well as for communication. All rights reserved. © 2022. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
The Herald
a day ago
- Business
- The Herald
Ibex, formerly Steinhoff, sells entire Pepkor stake for $1.5bn
Ibex Investment Holdings, formerly known as Steinhoff International, sold its entire 28% stake in clothing retailer Pepkor for $1.5bn (R26.4bn) via an accelerated book-building process. The company offered about one billion shares worth R28bn, according to the terms of the deal published on Monday. A bookrunner for the deal said on Tuesday the shares were priced at R25.45 per share. Steinhoff changed its name to Ibex in 2023 as part of a restructuring prompted by its 2017 accounting fraud that led to a stream of lawsuits and hefty losses. As part of efforts to lower its mountain of debt, Ibex had been lowering its stake in Pepkor, which owns the Pep and Ackermans clothing brands, over the past few years. Reuters
The Citizen
04-07-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Thousands denied pensions as employers fail to pay
R5.2bn in pension debt owed by employers, mainly municipalities and security firms, leaves thousands of workers in limbo. A large number of municipalities and private employers who did not pay employees' contributions over to pension funds may face investigations. Their non-payments have tipped the new two-pot retirement system into turmoil. The employers are facing imminent investigation by the department of employment and labour, which is planning to flood them with labour inspectors to check their compliance status. Long list of companies, municipalities that violated pension fund They will also be sanctioned by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) which has a long list of private companies and municipalities that violated the pension fund rules and the law. An FSCA report showed municipalities and firms, mainly in the security and cleaning sectors, owe their employees approximately R5.2 billion in outstanding pension fund contributions impacting 31 000 people, with some cases dating back to the 2000s. Of the outstanding contributions, some R1.4 billion is owed by municipalities, affecting pension fund members' savings. ALSO READ: Industry leaders launch market surveillance code as Steinhoff fallout lingers The FSCA identified around 7 770 noncompliant employers, with 2 330 of them being publicly listed for violating Section 13A of the Pension Funds Act. Many employees, who were hoping to claim from their pension funds under the two-pot scheme, are crying foul after hitting a brick wall when they attempted to claim the 30% due to them under the two-pot system, which came into effect last year. The system has two pots – one is for savings and constitutes one third which goes into a savings pot and is accessible for withdrawal since September last year. The other two-thirds goes into the retirement pot to be kept in the fund until the pensioner's retirement age. Employees found their monies had been withheld The distraught employees found that their monies had been withheld by employers, particularly municipalities and the security and cleaning sector, that were all blacklisted by the FSCA. This means the contributors cannot claim the saving portion of their contributions. The Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) has taken up the matter on behalf of the affected workers, who inundated their various unions with complaints about how their employers had inconvenienced and prejudiced them due to nonpayment of their pension fund contributions. ALSO READ: Missing broker, missing money Cosatu parliamentary coordinator Matthew Parks said Cosatu has established a task force with the FSCA, National Treasury and the Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (Asisa) at the National Economic Development and Labour Council to deal with this crisis. Asisa represents the collective interests of asset managers, collective investment scheme management companies, linked investment service providers, multi-managers and life insurance companies. Parks said: 'It has the potential to get out of control. We're engaging the different sectors. Engagements have taken place with the SA Local Government Association and more are planned.' Potential to get out of control The department agreed to issue a ministerial directive to labour inspectors to check pension fund compliance by employers. The department also increased the number of labour inspectors from 2 000 by 10 000 this year and 10 000 to be hired next year. The FSCA is working with the National Prosecuting Authority to pursue criminal sanctions against offenders. NOW READ: FSCA juggling high-profile cases with limited resources
The Citizen
27-06-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Industry leaders launch market surveillance code as Steinhoff fallout lingers
Aims to uphold integrity and prevent abuse, anti-competitive behaviour, and insider trading. FSCA investigators spend about 20% of their time assisting foreign regulators, including gathering trading records and financial data. Picture: Moneyweb The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has had to manage some of the most complex market abuse cases in the past eight years, including Steinhoff, regarded as the country's biggest corporate scandal to date. 'It's really been challenging,' says Alex Pascoe, head of market abuse at the FSCA. 'From December 2017, when Steinhoff announced accounting irregularities and its CEO Markus Jooste resigned, everything spiralled.' Pascoe was speaking at the launch of the South African Market Surveillance Code of Conduct in Cape Town on Tuesday, where he gave an account of the regulator's most prominent cases. The newly launched code of conduct is a joint initiative by South Africa's key financial institutions and regulators to align the country's market practices with global best standards. It aims to uphold market integrity and prevent abuse, anti-competitive behaviour, and insider trading. Although it does not replace existing regulations, it reinforces accountability from all market participants. ALSO READ: FSCA juggling high-profile cases with limited resources Case load Pascoe notes that the FSCA receives roughly 42 to 45 market abuse cases per year, but finalised 78 cases in its last financial year by implementing a World Bank-recommended case selection framework. Pascoe reflected on how the fallout from Steinhoff forced the FSCA to re-evaluate how it allocates investigative capacity. 'Everybody knew Jooste was Steinhoff, and Steinhoff was Jooste,' he says. 'From there on it spiralled – Viceroy and Tongaat [another accounting scandal], a mini-Steinhoff followed. It took a lot of resources to manage those cases, especially since they involved cross-border transactions.' (The Viceroy case refers to the FSCA's investigation into the US-based short-selling firm Viceroy Research, which was fined R50 million for publishing false and misleading statements about Capitec. The Tongaat accounting scandal involved the manipulation of financial statements by senior executives at sugar producer Tongaat Hulett to overstate the company's assets and profits.) ALSO READ: Secrecy surrounded Jooste's big FSCA fine and arrest warrant Jooste a 'brilliant' schemer The Steinhoff investigation is far from over. 'Last year we issued fines to Markus Jooste [of] R495 million. We are looking at his deceased estate and assets around the world,' said Pascoe. 'We won't just leave it at that. Ill-gotten gains – be [he] dead or alive – that's how serious we are. We are seeing this right through.' (Jooste, who faced multiple charges of fraud and racketeering and hefty fines from the JSE and the FSCA for financial misconduct, fatally shot himself in Hermanus in March 2024.) The South African Reserve Bank has already attached R1.4 billion in assets belonging to Jooste, but the global search continues. 'Most of his funds were hidden overseas,' says Pascoe. He adds that a second investigative report into Steinhoff is underway and has been shared with the commercial crimes court. 'Once preliminary findings are in, they [respondents] could make submissions.' Reflecting on lessons learned from Steinhoff, Pascoe says be on the lookout for a dominant CEO. The way Jooste set up the schemes was brilliant. ALSO READ: FSCA fines Markus Jooste R475 million, refers case to Hawks 'Only certain individuals knew what he wanted them to know. Nobody had the full picture.' He adds that Jooste's devices were wiped every two weeks, and hardly anything was documented. Steinhoff's complex global structure, multiple acquisitions, and lack of transparency made it difficult for stakeholders to understand the company's financial position. 'It was difficult to keep up and understand how everything fitted in,' says Pascoe. He also points to poor internal controls and captured auditors in Europe as contributing factors. 'The audits were not up to standard. And then, the culture of not questioning management.' FSCA investigators spend about 20% of their time assisting foreign regulators, including gathering trading records and financial data. 'We're getting requests from all over the world – Sweden, Belgium, even Pakistan,' said Pascoe. 'A lot of suspicious transactions are from overseas, and no longer from the JSE.' ALSO READ: Who will pay Markus Jooste's R510 million penalties now? Shadow trading The need for international collaboration was echoed by Tony Sio, head of regulatory strategy and innovation at Nasdaq's Anti-Financial Crime division, who also spoke at Tuesday's event. Sio shared developments in market abuse investigations, including a growing focus on shadow trading – a form of misconduct that remains largely unprosecuted but which are increasingly on the radar of regulators. 'Shadow trading is where insider traders don't trade in the companies themselves, but in economically-linked securities,' Sio explains. Although the practice started as a hypothetical scenario in an academic journal published in 2020, it is now being observed in market data. 'We found increases in volumes of linked securities before acquisitions.' He cites the 2021 case where the executive of a pharmaceutical company learned of an imminent takeover and used the information to buy options in a rival company likely to benefit from the news. 'His options doubled in value in one day. He thought he was smart by not buying in the company itself – but he was found liable.' ALSO READ: We can't afford another Jooste from Steinhoff Robust market surveillance attracts global investment Happy Shihau, head of compliance at Investec Corporate and Institutional Banking, who facilitated discussions at the launch event, stresses that the newly launched market surveillance conduct code complements – rather than replaces – regulatory rules and directives. Shihau says robust market surveillance is essential to attracting global investment. 'Investors worldwide seek to engage with trusted financial markets, and robust market surveillance is essential for upholding that trust.' She adds that the new code will help reinforce the regulatory environment and promote responsible behaviour across the industry. This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here.
The Citizen
26-06-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
FSCA juggling high-profile cases with limited resources
Regulator finalised 78 cases in its last financial year by implementing World Bank-recommended case selection framework. FSCA investigators spend about 20% of their time assisting foreign regulators, including gathering trading records and financial data. Picture: Moneyweb Despite having only nine investigators in its market abuse team, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has had to manage some of South Africa's most complex market abuse cases – including the fallout from the Steinhoff accounting scandal. 'It's really been challenging,' says Alex Pascoe, head of market abuse at the FSCA. 'From December 2017, when Steinhoff announced accounting irregularities and its CEO Markus Jooste resigned, everything spiralled.' Pascoe was speaking at the launch of the South African Market Surveillance Code of Conduct in Cape Town on Tuesday, where he gave an account of the regulator's most prominent cases over the past eight years. The newly launched code of conduct is a joint initiative by South Africa's key financial institutions and regulators to align the country's market practices with global best standards. It aims to uphold market integrity and prevent abuse, anti-competitive behaviour, and insider trading. Although it does not replace existing regulations, it reinforces accountability from all market participants. ALSO READ: FSCA's Regulatory Actions Report shows impressive numbers of enforcement Case load Pascoe notes that the FSCA receives roughly 42 to 45 market abuse cases per year, but finalised 78 cases in its last financial year by implementing a World Bank-recommended case selection framework. 'We had to look at our resources – for the last 15 years, my team hasn't grown. We are just nine investigators.' Pascoe reflected on how the fallout from Steinhoff forced the FSCA to re-evaluate how it allocates investigative capacity. 'Everybody knew Jooste was Steinhoff, and Steinhoff was Jooste,' he says. 'From there on it spiralled – Viceroy and Tongaat [another accounting scandal], a mini-Steinhoff followed. It took a lot of resources to manage those cases, especially since they involved cross-border transactions.' (The Viceroy case refers to the FSCA's investigation into the US-based short-selling firm Viceroy Research, which was fined R50 million for publishing false and misleading statements about Capitec. The Tongaat accounting scandal involved the manipulation of financial statements by senior executives at sugar producer Tongaat Hulett to overstate the company's assets and profits.) ALSO READ: FSCA fines Markus Jooste R475 million, refers case to Hawks Jooste a 'brilliant' schemer The Steinhoff investigation is far from over. 'Last year we issued fines to Markus Jooste [of] R495 million. We are looking at his deceased estate and assets around the world,' said Pascoe. 'We won't just leave it at that. Ill-gotten gains – be [he] dead or alive – that's how serious we are. We are seeing this right through.' (Jooste, who faced multiple charges of fraud and racketeering and hefty fines from the JSE and the FSCA for financial misconduct, fatally shot himself in Hermanus in March 2024.) The South African Reserve Bank has already attached R1.4 billion in assets belonging to Jooste, but the global search continues. 'Most of his funds were hidden overseas,' says Pascoe. He adds that a second investigative report into Steinhoff is underway and has been shared with the commercial crimes court. 'Once preliminary findings are in, they [respondents] could make submissions.' Reflecting on lessons learned from Steinhoff, Pascoe says be on the lookout for a dominant CEO. The way Jooste set up the schemes was brilliant. 'Only certain individuals knew what he wanted them to know. Nobody had the full picture.' He adds that Jooste's devices were wiped every two weeks, and hardly anything was documented. Steinhoff's complex global structure, multiple acquisitions, and lack of transparency made it difficult for stakeholders to understand the company's financial position. 'It was difficult to keep up and understand how everything fitted in,' says Pascoe. He also points to poor internal controls and captured auditors in Europe as contributing factors. 'The audits were not up to standard. And then, the culture of not questioning management.' FSCA investigators spend about 20% of their time assisting foreign regulators, including gathering trading records and financial data. 'We're getting requests from all over the world – Sweden, Belgium, even Pakistan,' said Pascoe. 'A lot of suspicious transactions are from overseas, and no longer from the JSE.' ALSO READ: FSCA imposed about R943 million in penalties and debarred 156 people Shadow trading The need for international collaboration was echoed by Tony Sio, head of regulatory strategy and innovation at Nasdaq's Anti-Financial Crime division, who also spoke at Tuesday's event. Sio shared developments in market abuse investigations, including a growing focus on shadow trading – a form of misconduct that remains largely unprosecuted but which are increasingly on the radar of regulators. 'Shadow trading is where insider traders don't trade in the companies themselves, but in economically-linked securities,' Sio explains. Although the practice started as a hypothetical scenario in an academic journal published in 2020, it is now being observed in market data. 'We found increases in volumes of linked securities before acquisitions.' He cites the 2021 case where the executive of a pharmaceutical company learned of an imminent takeover and used the information to buy options in a rival company likely to benefit from the news. 'His options doubled in value in one day. He thought he was smart by not buying in the company itself – but he was found liable.' ALSO READ: FSCA to investigate banks charging different amounts for the same product Robust market surveillance attracts global investment Happy Shihau, head of compliance at Investec Corporate and Institutional Banking, who facilitated discussions at the launch event, stresses that the newly launched market surveillance conduct code complements – rather than replaces – regulatory rules and directives. Shihau says robust market surveillance is essential to attracting global investment. 'Investors worldwide seek to engage with trusted financial markets, and robust market surveillance is essential for upholding that trust.' She adds that the new code will help reinforce the regulatory environment and promote responsible behaviour across the industry. Follow Moneyweb's in-depth finance and business news on WhatsApp here.
