Disbarred lawyer Peet Viljoen held in custody on 400 criminal charges

Peet Viljoen sat in the Specialised Commercial Crime Court in Pretoria on Monday morning as Magistrate Nicca Setshogoe delivered the judgment that would keep him behind bars. The disbarred lawyer and television personality, once recognised for his legal expertise on screen, now faces 400 criminal charges spanning fraud, theft, corruption and forgery. Three concerns proved decisive: his status as a flight risk, the absence of fixed assets or a stable address in South Africa, and serious allegations that he had threatened witnesses in the case.

The charges relate to the alleged unlawful sale of at least 46 properties owned by the Johannesburg Property Company to unsuspecting buyers in 2010. Viljoen was arrested in June after being deported from the United States, where he and his wife, Melanie Viljoen, had faced shoplifting-related charges at a Florida supermarket. The pair were accused of ticket-switching, a scheme involving scanning low-cost items while bagging more expensive merchandise at a self-checkout aisle. Viljoen claimed he had voluntarily chosen deportation. Setshogoe found, on the evidence presented, that this request had been denied, meaning his return to South Africa was not a matter of personal choice.

The magistrate’s reasoning centred on practical realities that painted a picture of instability. Viljoen provided addresses where he said he would reside if released on bail, but the court found these insufficient to guarantee his stability in the country. More troubling was his deportation status combined with the fact that he held no demonstrable assets in South Africa. The court questioned whether there was any guarantee that, if released, he might not attempt to bribe government officials for travel documents, given the State’s allegations that he had already engaged in such conduct.

Meanwhile, the defence had mounted a procedural argument that Viljoen was technically still on bail in the same case. He had been arrested previously alongside several others and granted bail of R50,000 without conditions in August 2018. When the criminal case was later struck from the roll following a review application before the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, the defence contended that bail was never formally cancelled and therefore remained in force. This argument, the defence suggested, meant Viljoen was being forced to apply for bail in a case in which it had already been granted, an irregular and unprocedural situation. Setshogoe rejected this reasoning, finding that the High Court order had set aside the proceedings entirely, effectively finalising the case. When the case was ordered to start afresh, she determined, the original bail order ceased to be active.

The most serious concerns for the court involved witness interference. The State alleged that Viljoen had threatened both the investigating officer and a former co-accused who had since pleaded guilty. Two of his former co-accused had implicated him in criminality and pleaded guilty as part of plea and sentence agreements with the State; both had been employed by his law firm at the time. A third accused, an employee of the South African Revenue Service, was found guilty and sentenced for accepting bribes from one of Viljoen’s employees to issue clearance certificates. Setshogoe said there were no measures the court could put in place to guarantee that witness threats would not continue if Viljoen were released. That finding proved decisive in her assessment that his release could undermine public confidence in the criminal justice system.

During the judgment delivery, Viljoen maintained a composed demeanour, though at one point he called out to address the magistrate. He did not proceed after a brief consultation with his counsel. When the bail denial was announced, he was escorted from court while Melanie Viljoen sat in the gallery visibly sobbing.

His attorney, Andre Steenkamp, signalled their intention to appeal the bail refusal. Whether that appeal succeeds will determine how much longer Viljoen waits in custody before his case is heard. Full coverage is available at https://www.news24.com/southafrica/crime-and-courts/fraud-accused-peet-viljoen-denied-bail-20260817-0585.