A former Poundland boss is believed to have shot himself while police were closing in on him, it has been reported.
Ex-Steinhoff chief executive Markus Jooste died on Thursday afternoon, after South African police officers tried to arrest him on a beach near Cape Town, local media reported.
The 63-year-old had been ordered to pay what was reported to be the biggest fine in South African history on Wednesday - R475 million (£20 million).
This was for publishing false and misleading Steinhoff annual financial statements and annual reports for the 2014 to 2016 years and the 2017 half-year.
Police confirmed someone suffered a gunshot wound at Kwaaiwater beach in the coastal town of Hermanus.
They said the father-of-three succumbed to the shot on his way to hospital.
Jooste had reportedly booked a flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg for Thursday evening, when he had planned to hand himself over to investigators.
But, instead, he told his wife Ingrid he was going for a walk and police arrived at his home shortly afterwards.
Steinhoff revealed holes in its accounts in December 2017, the first sign of an accounting fraud that led to the near-collapse of the retail group, which is the majority owner of South African and European discount retailers Pepkor and Pepco. The group included retailers across Europe including the UK's Poundland.Steinhoff has suffered hefty losses and a stream of lawsuits since then.
Jooste told a South African parliamentary inquiry in 2018 that he was not aware of any accounting irregularities when he left the retailer in December 2017.
He had also been under fraud investigation by South African police.
The Financial Sector Conduct Authority said Jooste's death would have no bearing on its investigation into Steinhoff, or on the 475 million rand ($25.0 million) penalty imposed on him.
"The FSCA is legally entitled to recover the penalty from the estate of the late Mr Jooste," it said.
