The NPA says it is giving the Steinhoff investigation all the necessary attention and that results will soon be realised, reports TimesLIVE.

NPA bosses yesterday appeared before Parliament’s Justice Portfolio Committee to account for its performance in the 2021/22 financial year. 

DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach noted the Reserve Bank acted on the scandal-hit retailer ‘and rather alarmingly and noticeably, the NPA was absent from that action’. 

She added that Hawks head Godfrey Lebeya told Parliament last week that he had expected criminal prosecutions in some of the issues related to Steinhoff. ‘So what is the nature of the hold-up?’ she asked.

The NPA’s Rodney de Kock explained the NPA and the Hawks had put great effort into preparing for a criminal prosecution.

‘Our organisations have left no stone unturned. So I want to reassure the members of this committee that Steinhoff is getting all the necessary attention it deserves and soon we will see the results of that.’

De Kock said a draft indictment has been prepared, though the final decision as to who and how many would be charged and the final indictment still have to be finalised. A number of outstanding witness statements were being dealt with, and investigators were being assisted to compile further evidence in this regard.

There is outstanding evidence that needs to be gathered and mutual legal assistance requests from foreign jurisdictions that also need to be finalised.

De Kock said the matter was so complex that the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) report has not been finalised, reports TimesLIVE.

He said prosecutors have engaged with PWC in terms of its audit and findings and some interaction was still required. To date, 329 statements have been filed in the case docket, including affidavits from various Steinhoff investors, the CIPC registration documents of companies incorporated and various other documents that had to be sourced from the stock exchange and Steinhoff’s external auditors.

He said they were looking at certain people to act as witnesses in the matter, including waiting for a particular report from experts that had been assigned to assist the prosecution team.

The Asset Forfeiture Unit is also involved, working closely with investigators and prosecutors assigned to the case, said De Kock. The NPA was also in consultation with German authorities to see what additional support they can provide and interacting with certain German citizens – one or two people that are critical to the investigation.

De Kock said in terms of the investigation of the exchange control regulations, the Reserve Bank and the Hawks have been in touch and that a further meeting will be held to understand whether the bank wishes to refer criminal charges for investigation to the Hawks.

Full TimesLIVE report