STEINHOFF CEO’S MISTRESS WANTS MONTHLY ALLOWANCE FROM SARB

Berdine Odendaal wants her R150,000 per month spending money, but the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) isn’t allowing it.

Odendaal was, for several years, the alleged mistress of former disgraced Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste. Jooste committed suicide at his Hermanus mansion a day after he was fined millions of Rands by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority in March.

Now, Odendaal wants the SARB to give her access to one of her frozen bank accounts so that she can keep up with her expenses. The account was frozen while it was part of an investigation by the SARB.

The R150,000 per month she’s asking for will cover her costs like satellite TV, a garden worker, satellite TV, the stabling and transportation of her polo ponies, clothing, a domestic worker and much more.

Odendaal loves to play polo in her spare time and lives in the upmarket Val de Vie Estate just outside Paarl in the Western Cape.

News24 reports that Odendaal’s accounts were blocked in early 2021 after she received a total of R60 million in loans from a company linked to Jooste.

The SARB believes that Jooste and his company went against South Africa’s exchange control provisions when they brought the money linked to the loan into the country.

Odendaal is awaiting the outcome of her appeal at the South African Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein.