Picture supplied by Showmax
The wheels of justice may turn slowly, but they are turning. That is the message at the heart of two new episodes of ‘Steinheist’, now streaming on Showmax.
The series, which exposed the largest corporate fraud in South African history, picks up where it left off. This time, the noose around former Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste has tightened considerably in the lead-up to his suicide on 21 March 2024.
For those who watched the first instalment in outrage, director Richard Finn Gregory offers some reassurance.
“I think the new episodes show that the wheels of justice do turn, even if a lot more slowly than we’d like,” he says.
“We had a rough time during the State Capture years when South Africans started to lose faith that our country could actually prosecute crimes and make a dent in corruption. But the new episodes show that our public institutions do have teeth and are able to prosecute, eventually.”
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Richard also hopes this saga sends a strong message to the world. “That South Africa is able to prosecute crimes, which will hopefully get us off the investment grey list and lead to more business confidence in our country.”
The latest instalment unpacks the fallout, from the Reserve Bank freezing R1.4 billion of Jooste’s assets to the record-breaking R475 million fine imposed by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority.
It also highlights the legal web tightening around Jooste’s inner circle, including the arrest of former Steinhoff executive Stéhan Grobler and the plea deal of ex-CFO Ben la Grange.
Richard believes this is just the beginning. “There are high-profile people who have turned State witnesses, helping prosecutors build more cases. From here on out, I think we can just continue watching the news to see who the next high-profile arrest is going to be.”
The Steinheist saga may not be over, but these new episodes promise answers and perhaps, a little justice.
