Petrus “Peet” Viljoen is set to stay behind bars pending his next court appearance. The controversial and disbarred lawyer appeared briefly at the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Thursday, 19 June 2026,  facing 400 counts of fraud worth R27 million, corruption, theft, uttering and forgery.

The 57-year-old was arrested at OR Tambo International Airport on Tuesday, 16 June 2026, shortly after landing from the United States of America, where he was detained and subsequently deported.

According to Gauteng National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Spokesperson, Lumka Mahanjana, his arrest follows the fraudulent selling of properties belonging to the City of Joburg.

It is alleged that from January to March 2010, Viljoen and five other suspects, who have not yet appeared before the court, fraudulently sold 46 properties belonging to the City of Johannesburg (COJ) to unsuspecting individuals and/or companies without the knowledge of COJ.

To transfer the properties, the suspects forged documents, including sales agreements, resolutions of the COJ and Joburg Property Company, power of attorney to transfer properties, affidavits and several other applications.

Furthermore, it is alleged that Viljoen paid a deputy registrar employed by the Department of Land Affairs gratification to register the transfer deeds of the properties.

According to Mahanjana, this was discovered after the COJ conducted an audit on its immovable assets and noticed the discrepancies, and applied to the Johannesburg High Court to have their properties returned to the city.

The application was granted by the court, and the properties were returned to the COJ.

“After criminal investigations by the police, Viljoen was arrested in 2010 and appeared at the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court. However, the matter was set to start de novo in front of a different magistrate at the SCCU,” added the NPA

Just before the matter was re-enrolled in court, Viljoen left the country in May 2025 and was re-arrested on 16 June 2026 at the OR Tambo International Airport after he was deported from the United States of America.

In court, the matter was postponed to 26 June 2026 for bail investigations and bail application. The state has indicated that it intends to oppose his release on bail.

READ MORE: Peet and Mel Viljoen in ICE custody. Peet being held at Alligator-Alcatraz