By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Steinhoff, Andries La Grange, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in one of South Africa’s largest corporate fraud cases.
La Grange appeared in the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Pretoria on Thursday.
He was charged with racketeering, fraud, corruption and contravening the Financial Markets Act, alongside the former head of legal, Stehan Grobler, who was arrested three months prior in March.
The State accused La Grange and Grobler of overstating the Steinhoff group’s profits, using “fraudulent invoices apparently settled by the roundtripping of Steinhoff funds”.
They further received “discretionary bonuses” because it appeared as if the business had done well.
La Grange initially indicated that he planned to plead not guilty, but has since made a deal with the State.
On Thursday, he pleaded guilty to a charge of fraud in connection with a cooked invoice, valued at a staggering R376 649 872.
The minimum prescribed sentence for fraud in matters where the value is over R500 000 is 15 years in prison, but La Grange received 10 years, with five suspended.
La Grange was accused of playing a significant role in the financial misconduct that led to Steinhoff’s collapse in 2017.
The former CFO manipulated financial statements and failed to report fraudulent activities between 2014 and 2016.
In 2022, he was fined R2 million by the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) for violating listing rules and barred from holding office in a public company for 10 years.
La Grange’s sentencing is the second conviction the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has secured in relation to Steinhoff.
Gerhardus Diedricks Burger, an associate of former Steinhoff chief executive officer (CEO) Markus Jooste, also agreed to a plea deal with the state.
Burger received a five-year suspended sentence last week after pleading guilty to insider trading.
Meanwhile, former Steinhoff legal head Stéhan Grobler is expected to appear in court on Friday.
Grobler revealed in an affidavit he deposed that he intends to plead not guilty to the charges and will prove his innocence.
The NPA and Hawks have been investigating Steinhoff following an audit scandal that revealed the company inflated its profits by R100 billion.
The multinational holding company, which had a 43.8% stake in the local Pepkor group, was officially liquidated in October 2023.