Union wants Markus Jooste banned from Cape Town horse race

Johannesburg - A South African labour group asked the organisers of a Cape Town horse race to ban former Steinhoff International Holdings Chief Executive Officer Markus Jooste from entering his animals into the competition.

The share price crash triggered by Steinhoff’s accounting scandal has wiped billions of rand off the value of the pension funds of state workers, which the Public Servants Association represents.

Jooste, 56, shouldn’t be able to enter January’s Sun Met race, which is among upcoming races which could earn him as much as R5m in prize money, the group said in a statement on Friday.

“The PSA, as custodian of public servants’ pensions, cannot allow Jooste to continue making millions until an investigation into the irregularities has been completed,” the union said.

Jooste, a horse breeder and racing fanatic, quit as Steinhoff CEO on Tuesday after the discovery of financial wrongdoing.

Shares in the global clothing and furniture retailer have crashed 85% since, wiping almost €11bn (R176bn) from the value of the company.

The Public Investment Corporation, which manages South African government-worker pension funds, is the second-biggest shareholder with a 10% stake.

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