Steinhoff Ex-CFO Jailed Over Accounts Scandal at Global Retailer

Steinhoff International Holdings NV’s former chief financial officer was handed a five-year jail term, making him the most senior executive to be imprisoned by a South African court over an accounting scandal that led to the near-collapse of the global retailer.

Ben la Grange, 50, whose official sentence is 10 years after pleading to one charge of fraud, won some leniency in a judgment at Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court because he’d repeatedly cooperated with investigators.

Half of his sentence will be suspended for five years on condition that he’s not found guilty of fraud in a higher ...