Markus Jooste: Poundland owner's ex-boss dies of gunshot wound in South Africa - BBC News

Markus Jooste dies one day after being ordered to pay a $25m fine for accounting fraud in South Africa.

1 hour agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, The 63-year-old died a day after getting a record fine for accounting fraudBy Will Ross & Natasha BootyBBC NewsMarkus Jooste, the former head of the Steinhoff retail group that was at the centre of a huge corporate fraud case in South Africa, has died.

Police said Mr Jooste succumbed to a gunshot wound in hospital, with local media reporting he shot himself at his home in the southern town of Hermanus.

"The circumstances surrounding his death are being investigated," police spokesperson Andre Traut said.

The group included retailers across Europe including the UK's Poundland.

Local media says Mr Jooste once had a "near-mythical" reputation as an exceptional businessman, credited with turning the small Johannesburg furniture-seller Steinhoff into a multinational retailer.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-68636325

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