Former department of agriculture director arrested over travel fraud scheme

Former reality television personality Peet Viljoen is scheduled to appear in the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Pretoria on Thursday, 18 June, facing charges that date back 16 years.

Viljoen (57) had just stepped off a plane at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg on Tuesday, following his deportation from the US, when he was arrested by members of the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation unit.

Peet Viljoen was arrested by members of the Hawks. (Photo: Silindelo Sebata / X) He was arrested on allegations of fraud, theft, forgery, uttering and contravention of Section 4 of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act, 2004.

His wife, Mel, had arrived in South Africa several weeks earlier after being deported from the US.

Peet and Mel Viljoen during an interview in Pretoria on 13 January 2023 (Photo: Deon Raath / Gallo Images / Rapport) SA Police Service spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale said that the arrest of the disbarred attorney followed an extensive investigation into alleged fraudulent sales of properties belonging to the Johannesburg Property Company (JPC), which is owned by the City of Johannesburg. It was one of the largest municipal property fraud investigations in the city’s history.

Mogale said investigations into the property fraud scheme were ongoing.

The case centred on allegations that a syndicate used forged documents and fraudulent property transfer processes to unlawfully transfer between 27 and 33 properties belonging to the City of Johannesburg, municipal entities and the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral).

Investigators alleged that the properties, valued at more than R100-million, were transferred out of public ownership using forged council resolutions, fraudulent company records and falsified transfer documentation.

Viljoen has denied all wrongdoing, despite previous court allegations that his former law firm acted as the conveyancer in a number of the transactions and funnelled the sale proceeds through its trust account.

The sprawling case has since ballooned into hundreds of charges, cementing it as one of the longest-running commercial crime prosecutions in South African history.

Details of the syndicate’s inner workings emerged in several court cases, including a 2015 Supreme Court of Appeal ruling involving Viljoen’s co-accused, attorney Eddie Maringa.

The alleged fraud involved high-profile Gauteng properties, specifically along Bryanston’s William Nicol Drive corridor, Sanral land, and other public parcels.

Unanswered questions

While the State failed to secure convictions against Viljoen, questions have remained about whether all investigations linked to the alleged property fraud syndicate were finalised or whether separate matters are under investigation.

The NPA declined to clarify whether Viljoen’s arrest involves the historic case or a new probe, with spokesperson Magaboke Mohlatlole confirming only that the case was referred to the Specialised Commercial Crime Unit (SCCU) in Pretoria.

Queries sent by Daily Maverick to the City of Johannesburg and the JPC — seeking updates on property recovery efforts, outstanding land ownership and total financial losses — went unanswered. The SCCU also did not comment before publication.

The Viljoens have had a hard time of late. The couple had cultivated an image of wealth and glamour through their appearance on the reality TV programme The Real Housewives of Pretoria .

But this all ended on 10 March when the couple, who had moved to the US, were arrested in Boca Raton, Florida, accused of stealing more than $5,000 worth of groceries from a supermarket. DM