Former Steinhoff boss Markus Jooste is continuing to fight efforts by the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) to fine him for his role in SA's largest accounting scandal, reports Fin24.

Jooste has still not paid the R15m fine the JSE imposed on him in January for releasing false and misleading financial statements and creating a sham R376m invoice. 

The former Steinhoff CEO, who lost his initial appeal against the fine last month, now wants to take the matter on review to a new court.

As Jooste digs in for a long legal battle against the JSE, the clock is running down on two criminal charges he faces in Germany.

Jooste has refused to travel to Germany to answer charges that he oversaw a complex web of fraud at Steinhoff that falsely inflated the retailer's assets and hid billions of rands in losses.

The two charges he is facing are expected to lapse at the end of 2023 and 2024 in line with Germany's statute of limitations.

After the local bourse fined Jooste R15m and barred him from acting as a company director for 20 years, Jooste took the ruling on appeal to the Financial Services Tribunal.

Last month, the tribunal dismissed Jooste's reconsideration bid.

The tribunal chair, retired Judge Louis Harms, agreed with the JSE that Steinhoff's financial information published under Jooste's watch was ‘false in material respects’.

With the appeal falling flat, the JSE said it expected Jooste to pay the R15m fine ‘immediately’.

But the demand for payment has been put on ice for now after Jooste said he intended a new bid to challenge the tribunal’s findings, notes Fin24.

The Financial Sector Regulation Act allows tribunal rulings to be taken on review via the civil court system.

The JSE reportedly told News24 it would ‘respect and adhere to the legal process’ as it awaits Jooste's next move. 

Full Fin24 report