'This trust in Louis du Preez, Theodore de Klerk, as well as in management and directors, proved to be misplaced'.
As Warren Buffett has wisely counseled never invest in something you don?t trust. 'The Steinhoff board of directors, long viewed as one of the strongest and most dependable, has come under fierce criticism for failing to exercise its fiduciary duty. Describing the board, one fund manager stated that it was ?ineffective, not independent' It?s a buddy-buddy system, a bunch of people who know each other and have worked together for years. It strips them of their capacity to question things that don?t make sense. CapacityLastly, said Styan, the Steinhoff case ? and other large investigations like VBS Mutual Bank ? raises questions of capacity to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. SARS has been tightening the screws on tax dodgers, while cases like VBS and Steinhoff have thrown the spotlight on large-scale financial crime. Styan believes Steinhoff?s tumble did not occur in isolation. ?How much of our financial system is a deck of cards that can come tumbling down at any minute?? Styan asked. Should a major clean-up ensue, he argued, it was unclear whether there would be capacity to follow through. In addition to the ?multitude? of investigations ? financial and otherwise ? facing the Hawks, Styan argued that state prosecutors would face a ?huge imbalance? of capacity against billionaires with large legal teams and a wide range of resources at their disposal. https://mg.co.za/article/...-steinhoff-may-be-the-tip-of-the-iceberg/
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