More South African investors join international litigation against Steinhoff

Over 100 000 Steinhoff shareholders have registered with the International Steinhoff Litigation group.

According to a statement issued by Zain Lundell of LHL Attorneys, which is leading the South African class action, more investors both institutional and retail have registered with the international litigation.

The international litigation is a multi-jurisdictional approach which includes Germany and the Netherlands. The hope is to get a global solution all shareholders can benefit from.

• READ: Steinhoff class action must be dealt with sooner rather than later - attorney

The South Africa class action was filed against over 40 defendants including Steinhoff, Deloitte, Absa Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Commerzbank and PSG Capital, as well as current and ex-directors of Steinhoff including former board chair Christo Wiese and former CEO Markus Jooste, and others.

This is with the hopes to recover compensation for the shareholder losses of up to €12bn (approximately R185bn), Fin24 reported previously.

Last week the international litigation group held investor conferences and meetings in Cape Town and Johannesburg.

“We greatly appreciate the overwhelming feedback and support we have received for the local 'People’s Action' we launched. I am especially happy about the fact that both institutional investors as well as retail investors are joining forces to support what we believe is the best option for maximum recovery for all shareholders alike”, Lundell said.

The Public Servants Association (PSA) met with the litigation group and later issued a statement indicating their support of the class action. The PSA represents members whose pension was invested by the Public Investment Corporation on behalf of the government employee pension fund.

Most of the defendents have been served which include auditors Deloitte, chairperson Heather Sonn, former chairperson Christo Wiese, and former CFO Ben La Grange.

A case management conference is expected to be scheduled soon in the High Court of Gauteng, according to Lundell.

"In Amsterdam, the Netherlands, a writ of summons has been served upon Steinhoff and Markus Jooste. And in Germany, the case filed in the Regional Court of Frankfurt just received certification as a model case," the statement read.

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