Former Steinhoff director Stephanus Grobler granted bail of R150,000 for fraud case

Lerato Mbhiza

Former Steinhoff director Stephanus Grobler appeared in court on charges of racketeering, three counts of fraud worth R21bn, manipulation of financial statements and failure to report fraudulent activities.

Grobler’s first appearance was on Friday in connection with the multi-billion rand fraud at Steinhoff. And on Monday, he appeared in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court where he was granted bail of R150 000.

The case has been postponed to 26 June, National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana explained that Grobler and then Steinhoff Chief Executive Officer, Markus Jooste who died over the weekend, allegedly committed acts of racketeering between 2014 and 2016 within the company.

“During that period, it is alleged that Jooste played a major role in the management of the criminal enterprise. Furthermore, it is alleged that Grobler created documentation of transactions that supported the fraudulent transactions used to inflate and falsify the annual financial