The Johannesburg high court has issued a default judgment compelling controversial businessman Edwin Sodi to pay more than R500,000 for luxury shopping sprees between 2023 and 2024.
The Sunday Times understands that the ruling, handed down on February 4 in favour of Nedbank, has been on the opposed court roll since March last year, as sheriffs have been unable to locate Sodi to serve him with a court summons.
The matter relates to a string of unpaid credit card bills and an overdraft facility managed by the bank. Bank statements paint a picture of luxury splurges in Johannesburg and abroad, including hotel stays in London costing about R18,000 a night and clothing purchases at Louis Vuitton worth R40,000.
The statements further show that R37,000 was spent on skincare products in Sandton. Sodi also bought two clothing items at London-based retailer Mytheresa for R43,000, purchased artwork at Revolve London for R5,000, and spent a further R25,000 at luxury online marketplace Farfetch.
According to a sheriff who asked to remain anonymous, officials have been visiting Sodi’s Sandton premises since March without success.
“The case has not been heard because we have not been able to confirm that he has received the papers,” the sheriff said.
The sheriff added that the bank intends to cancel its credit agreement with Sodi due to nonpayment and may apply for a writ of execution against him.
The judgment granted by the office of the chief registrar of the court indicates that Sodi is liable for R570,248.
The office ordinarily issues default judgments for all cases on the unopposed court roll. These are cases where the subjects have not responded to court summonses or cannot be tracked.
Sodi has also been facing other legal challenges. His estranged wife, Nthateng Lerata, brought a claim accusing him of failing to comply with a court order to pay her a R24m divorce settlement. It is believed that this matter has been settled.
He has pleaded not guilty to charges of money laundering, fraud and corruption in a case before the Free State High Court relating to the controversial R255m Free State asbestos removal tender.
His co-accused include former ANC secretary-general and Free State premier Ace Magashule and a former personal assistant to Magashule, Moroadi Cholota, who was extradited from the US by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in August 2024.
The case is scheduled for a pretrial hearing this month, despite numerous legal attempts by the accused to have it struck from the roll.
Last month, the Sunday Times reported that Sodi’s company NJR Projects, now known as the G5 Group, was liquidated by a creditor in April last year after he failed to settle a R1.2m debt. And in January the high court in Johannesburg ordered Sodi, in his personal capacity, to pay Hollard Insurance a staggering R50m.
Sodi rose to prominence through government contracts secured by his company Blackhead Consulting. A joint venture led by him failed to complete upgrades at the Rooiwal wastewater treatment plant in Pretoria, a project that has been associated with a deadly cholera outbreak in Hammanskraal during 2023.
Nearly three years after the City of Tshwane pledged to blacklist Sodi and his partners, they have yet to do so, citing an inability to establish his companies’ addresses.
A report by the metro’s supply chain management division, dated September 2025, revealed that attempts to serve Sodi and his partners with letters informing them of their blacklisting were unsuccessful because the city could not locate their addresses.
“The restriction process restarted after engagements with National Treasury. Intention letters for the joint venture and respective partners were dispatched to affected contractors. The city, however, could not deliver the letters, first through physical delivery by the TMPD [Tshwane Metro Police Department] and then by registered mail through PostNet,” the report stated.
Despite mounting financial and legal pressure, Sodi has continued to project an image of wealth, maintaining an extensive property portfolio and luxury vehicles. His known properties include homes in Fresnaye in Cape Town and Bryanston, Johannesburg.
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