When corporate giant Steinhoff crashed in 2017, it wiped more than R200 billion off the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and knocked the pension funds of millions of ordinary South Africans.
The collapse was due to the discovery of accounting irregularities and resulted in CEO Markus Jooste’s resignation.
Now Showmax takes a deeper look into the biggest corporate scam in South African history in “Steinheist”.
Jooste; former Steinhoff chairperson Christo Wiese, who remains a billionaire despite reportedly losing the bulk of his wealth in the Steinhoff crash; Bruno Steinhoff, founder of Steinhoff International; Louis du Preez, the current Steinhoff CEO, who’s been a driving force behind the company’s remarkable recovery; and others will have their say in exclusive interviews on the show.
The three-part doccie is produced by Idea Candy who also produced ‘’Devilsdorp“, which is now the most nominated documentary going into the South African Film and Television Awards.
Director Richard Finn Gregory said: “Before the Steinhoff crash, the furniture giant was billed as ‘the Ikea of Africa’, employing over 130 000 people on over 40 brands across four continents.
“ ‘Steinheist’ is the story of Markus Jooste and a R100-billion lie that everyone bought – a lie that was built over two decades. How did this happen? How did no one see it coming? And how is Marcus Jooste not in jail?”
“Steinheist” will premiere on Showmax on September 22, with new episodes every Thursday until October 6.