Africa-Press – South-Africa. A court spokesperson in Germany has said that former Steinhoff boss Markus Jooste cannot appeal its ruling confirming that the arrest warrant issued against him last month is valid.
The Higher Regional Court in Oldenburg this week dismissed Jooste’s appeal against the arrest warrant issued by a lower court.
“There is no further legal remedy against the decision of the Higher Regional Court,” a spokesperson told News24.
The case has now been returned to the lower Oldenburg Regional Court, which has not yet decided how to proceed.
The regional court issued a warrant of arrest for Jooste on 24 June after he failed to appear for the start of his fraud trial in April.
The case against Jooste in Germany is separate from an investigation into fraud at Steinhoff being conducted by the Hawks.
Jooste’s German lawyer, Bernd Groß, had tried to convince the regional court in April that, while his client wanted to attend the trial in person, he feared being arrested if he tried to leave South Africa.
Groß argued that Jooste had promised South African authorities in late 2017 that he would not leave the country without their express permission.
After conferring for a month, the court dismissed Groß’s argument and issued the arrest warrant. The South African government has also denied it had blocked Jooste’s passport.
Back to square one?
While the ruling means the arrest warrant can be executed, extradition lawyers have cautioned that it may be tricky to get Jooste to Germany if he doesn’t decide to fly there himself.
Dr Julius Hagen, an attorney at German law firm Schlun & Elseven, said that SA does not have a bilateral extradition treaty with Germany.
While the two countries are both parties to the European Extradition Convention, neither SA nor Germany extradites its own nationals.
Hagen said that while SA could choose to ignore a section of the treaty that gives it the right to refuse extradition, this would be “highly unlikely”.
Jooste’s German lawyer did not return a request for comment. His South African legal team has repeatedly said he does not intend to comment.
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