While political parties have welcomed the sentencing of former Steinhoff CFO Andries Benjamin La Grange, they have noted apparent leniency with his conviction.

Between November and December 2016, the then CEO Markus Johannes Jooste, who is now deceased, and La Grange defrauded a Steinhoff subsidiary, Steinhoff At Work, the board of directors of Steinhoff Manufacturing and Steinhoff South Africa of over R367-million.

La Grange was sentenced to a ten-year imprisonment on Thursday, by the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court, with five years suspend.

He pleaded guilty and has agreed to assist the State in one count of fraud of over R367-million, emanating from the manipulation of financial statements and failure to report fraudulent activities.

La Grange’s sentencing follows that of Gerhardus Burger, who was given a five-year suspended sentence and had to pay back the proceeds of insider trading.

The African National Congress (ANC) welcomed the conviction, however, demanded tougher action against corporate corruption.

ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said “corporate criminals” must not expect to evade accountability through lenient sentences that weaken the fight against corruption.

She said corporate corruption, like public sector corruption, must be met with severe consequences.

The ANC reiterated its stance that “corporate greed, enabled by weak regulation” destroyed livelihoods, and said these convictions should be the start to tougher actions against white-collar crime in the country.

Bhengu-Motsiri noted the need for adherence to Financial Action Task Force standards, which she said were crucial in strengthening South Africa’s financial integrity.

“This conviction is an improvement on the disappointing five-year suspended sentence that was handed down last week to Gerhardus Burger - another Steinhoff criminal who was charged with insider trading,” she said.

The ANC urged the National Prosecuting Authority to intensify efforts in prosecuting those involved in the Steinhoff scandal to ensure justice for the victims, particularly workers and their families.

ActionSA Member of Parliament Alan Beesley agreed with the ANC that La Grange’s sentencing was lenient considering the seriousness of his crimes.

However, he said the conviction marked a “slow but steady shift” in South Africa’s justice system towards exerting the full extent of the law against those involved in grand corruption, especially at this scale and in the private sector, where he said the funds of South African’s and pensioners were “criminally misappropriated and lost in this fraud”.

“We also hope that his plea bargain will result in evidence that enables the successful prosecution of others involved in this grand heist,” noted Beesley.

ActionSA said, whether in the private or public sector, without strict punitive measures, South Africa would never win the war against “this pervasive cancer that has robbed South Africa and her people of so many opportunities”.