The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has fined former Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste R121-million for insider trading related to the imminent (at the time) crash in Steinhoff shares. The FSCA also fined three other individuals for insider trading – they sold their Steinhoff shares in response to a warning received from Markus Jooste. This brings the total of the fines levied to R241-million. If the three individuals – Dr Gerhardus Diedericks Burger, Marthinus Swiegelaar (who was Jooste’s driver), and Jooste’s old friend the late Ockie Oosthuizen – do not pay their fines, Jooste is liable for the additional amounts of R38-million plus R18-million, making the SMS he sent to them probably the world’s most expensive SMS. This is the largest penalty imposed by the FSCA for insider trading – the next largest is the R24-million it fined Deutsche Bank in 2019.
SOURCE: DAILY MAVERICK