Former Steinhoff audit executive Hein Odendaal, aged 68, has been sentenced to a fine of R2 million or four years’ imprisonment after pleading guilty in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crime Court. The sentencing follows a plea and sentence agreement with the state, related to his involvement in the manipulation of Steinhoff’s financial statements between 2014 and 2017.
Odendaal was also handed an additional two years’ imprisonment, wholly suspended for five years, on condition that he is not convicted of a similar offence during that period.
The case centres on Odendaal’s failure to report fraudulent activities, which contributed to the presentation of false and misleading audited financial statements. This formed part of the broader Steinhoff scandal, one of South Africa’s largest corporate fraud cases, where over R100 billion in fictitious transactions were allegedly used to inflate the company’s financial position. Such manipulations misled investors, including pension funds, leading to massive losses when the scandal erupted in 2017.
Journalist and author of Steinheist, Rob Rose, commented on the verdict, noting that this marks the sixth conviction in the Steinhoff fraud cases overall—a positive step for the prosecution service in tackling white-collar crime, which had previously struggled in such matters. However, he described the sentence as relatively lenient given the scale of the scandal, which unfolded nine years earlier.
Rose explained that Odendaal was not among the core architects of the fraud, such as the late Markus Jooste, who was the mastermind behind the creation of fraudulent accounts. Two individuals in Germany have already served prison time for related offences. Instead, Odendaal and others processed fictitious transactions, including a specific instance involving a handwritten invoice for €23 million (approximately R376 million at the time) handed to then-finance director Ben La Grange on an airplane. This fake rebate claim was processed through the system by La Grange, Iwan Schelbert (convicted earlier), and Odendaal, resulting in entirely fabricated income appearing in Steinhoff’s financials.
Those involved, including Odendaal, did not admit to knowing the full extent of the fraud but accepted culpability for processing the fictitious payments.
The case against co-accused Grobler is scheduled to be heard on 14 May.
Rose highlighted ongoing concerns about the pace and severity of justice in white-collar crime prosecutions. He pointed out that the Steinhoff collapse involved R106 billion in fake transactions, severely impacting pension funds and investors. Despite the complexity of the fraud—including fabricated cash impressions—the public should not be fully satisfied with the time taken to secure convictions or the perceived leniency of some sentences, especially when compared to other cases like Bosasa, where smaller-scale corruption led to harsher effective prison terms (such as Vincent Smith’s seven years or former Steinhoff CFO Andries Benjamin le Grange’s 10-year sentence, half suspended).
Rose noted that plea deals, as in Odendaal’s case, likely reflect the state’s efforts to secure wins after prolonged investigations, though tougher sentences might have resulted from full trials. He emphasised the need for greater accountability and improved capacity to prosecute complex financial crimes, as conviction rates in such matters have reportedly declined in recent years.
This latest development underscores the continued legal repercussions of the Steinhoff scandal, which led to the company’s collapse and significant investor losses.