Markus Jooste’s company Steinhoff International Holdings NV collapse is said to be one of the reasons for his demise at 63.

The other reaseon was that he was behind the company’s accounting scam.

Since auditors declined to approve its financials in late 2017, Steinhoff, the erstwhile owner of Conforama in France and Mattress Firm in the US, has been fighting for its life. Bloomberg

Mr. Jooste passed away in his home town of Hermanus, South Africa, according to a source with knowledge of the circumstances who wanted to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to talk.

The 63-year-old man’s death was verified by police in Hermanus, a beach town 120 kilometers south of Cape Town, on Thursday afternoon.

According to the police statement, a lethal gunshot wound to the head was the cause of death.

Since auditors declined to approve its financials in late 2017, Steinhoff, the erstwhile owner of Conforama in France and Mattress Firm in the US, has been fighting for its life.

This resulted in Mr. Jooste’s resignation, a sharp decline in share prices, and the opening of regulatory and police investigations in South Africa and Europe.

Allegedly, financial sheets were manipulated by over €1.5 billion ($2.5 billion) through the use of fictitious transactions. Prosecutors have also claimed that the value of real estate assets was overstated. After an eight-year investigation, auditor PwC’s forensic team found €6.5 billion in questionable transactions with eight different entities.

Who are Markus Jooste’s three children?

 Markus Jooste and his wife Ingrid have three kids whose names are yet to be known.