Justice Circle Steinhoff Managers Again: Accusation of Tax Evasion Amounting to Millions

Once again, a former manager of the Steinhoff empire has come into the focus of the justice system, this time due to allegations of having concealed significant tax obligations from the tax authorities. The trial is set to commence next Monday at the Oldenburg Regional Court, as announced in an official court statement. The defendant, a 64-year-old former managing director of the furniture giant's European subsidiaries, is confronted with the serious accusation of not having paid taxes amounting to over 26 million euros over a four-year period – specifically between October 2008 and August 2012. This serious allegation continues with the suspicion of having intentionally provided incorrect information to the tax authorities in order to reduce the tax liability. A final judgement is potentially expected by mid-May at the center of the medium-sized justice system in Oldenburg. However, the defendant is no stranger to the courtroom. He has previously received sentences in two instances: A recent ruling by the Oldenburg Regional Court included a prison sentence of three years and three months, as well as a fine based on the amount of undeclared bonus payments. The manager's failures to declare income of 2.9 million euros were thus criminally charged to him. He was also tried for improper accounting in the context of the Steinhoff accounting scandal and received a suspended sentence of two years. A colleague was sentenced to a harsher penalty of three and a half years in parallel proceedings, also for false statements in the accounting records as well as aiding and abetting credit fraud. The justice system has not only focused on the aforementioned former managers but also continues to search for the former group CEO Markus Jooste and a trustee. While the proceedings against the trustee were dismissed with a financial penalty, Jooste remains missing and is the subject of an international search. Once celebrated as Europe's furniture retail giant, the company Steinhoff, founded by Bruno Steinhoff, has suffered a heavy blow with the fraud scandal and the subsequent devaluation on the stock market. Poco, once a flagship of the group on German soil, now belongs to the portfolio of competitor XXXLutz. Steinhoff International Holdings, the global umbrella of the group, now steers its fate from Amsterdam and South Africa.