Fugitive, Joao Manuel de Oliveira Rendeiro, to appear in Verulam court

Rustenburg – Arrested former Portuguese banker Joao Manuel de Oliveira Rendeiro will appear in the Verulam Magistrate's Court on Monday, the SA Police Service said.

Spokesperson Brigadier Vish Naidoo said the convicted fraudster wanted by the Portuguese government was arrested in Umhlanga Rocks, north of Durban, in KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday.

He said Rendeiro would appear in the Verulam Magistrate's Court, as part of his extradition process, and not the Durban Magistrate's Court as earlier communicated.

Rendeiro allegedly fled his conviction and prison sentence for fraud charges involving about R740 million.

“Mr Joao Manuel de Oliveira Rendeiro is a Portuguese national who absconded from Portugal after being convicted on a multi-million dollar fraud case and sentenced to 12 years imprisonment before he escaped.”

The head of the judicial police of Portugal, Luis Neves, brought this matter to the attention of National Commissioner of the SAPS, General Khehla Sitole, during a bilateral meeting at the 89th Interpol General Assembly in Istanbul, Turkey on November 24.

General Sitole committed to tracking and tracing the fugitive after it emerged he might be hiding in South Africa.

“Members from the Interpol NCB [National Crime Bureau ] in Pretoria, acting on an Interpol Red Notice, traced the fugitive to a location in Umhlanga Rocks where he was arrested,” Naidoo said.

The Portuguese authority welcomed the news of De Oliveira Rendeiro's arrest and sent words of gratitude and praise to the National Commissioner and the SAPS team for speedily arresting him.”

IOL