Disgraced former Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste has died.

Several reports yesterday said Jooste had shot himself during an arrest. Police said the circumstances around the death are being investigated. 

Western Cape police confirmed that a death inquest case docket has been registered at Hermanus police station following the death of a 63-year-old male. 

"It is alleged that the victim sustained a gunshot wound at around 14h40 at Kwaaiwater and succumbed to death on his way to hospital. No foul play is suspected at this stage. The circumstances surrounding his death are being investigated," said Col Andrè Traut.

Sources confirmed to Sowetan's sister publication Business Day that Jooste killed himself to avoid being arrested. 

His death comes a day after the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) hit Jooste with a R475m administrative penalty for contraventions of the Financial Markets Act (FMA) related to his misleading reporting on the financial position of Steinhoff International.

This meant investors based their decision on false information, which resulted in hundreds of billions of rand in losses, also by pension funds.

The FSCA said at a press conference on Wednesday, it expected Jooste to appeal against the fine in a drawn-out legal battle. 

Jooste is accused of being the mastermind behind SA’s biggest fraud case. He was CEO of Steinhoff when it created fictitious offshore shell companies to inflate profits and hide losses.

Despite being SA’s biggest fraud, in which SA and European shareholders and pension funds lost at least R200bn, he was yet to face charges, though it is believed he was set to appear in an SA court soon. 

According to charges filed in 2023 in a German court Jooste insisted that managers of European subsidiary companies created and falsified specific earnings figures from 2011 and 2013 to help him manipulate the Steinhoff books. He and some of his managers also excessively inflated property asset values. 

In April last year he failed to appear before the German court and SA authorities were asked by Germany to assist in his arrest. 

In April last year justice minister Ronald Lamola was as surprised as everybody else when he heard Jooste failed to appear in court in Germany.

“There was nothing at all stopping him. He could have appeared in Germany, so I was also surprised when I saw ... something stopped him from attending,” said Lamola.  

Sowetan sister publication TimesLIVE had reported that Jooste lost his travel documents. This would be the first criminal charge against Jooste since Steinhoff’s collapse six years ago.

Additional reporting by Katherine Child