By Marcus Moloko
Tenderpreneur Edwin Sodi has been hit by a string of liquidations, court setbacks and corruption prosecutions that are tightening the financial and legal pressure on his once far-reaching business network.
Sodi, who built a reputation for securing state work, now faces the prospect of asset losses and possible criminal conviction as multiple cases move through the courts and state agencies pursue recovery claims and restrictions on future public-sector business.
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One of the earliest signs of strain emerged in April 2025, when NJR Projects — later rebranded as G5 Group — was liquidated after it failed to settle a reported debt of about R1.2 million owed to Case Hire.
The legal pressure intensified in January 2026 when the Johannesburg High Court ordered Sodi to personally pay Hollard Insurance about R50 million, linked to failed guarantees connected to a prison upgrade project in Parys.
Around the same time, the City of Tshwane applied to the National Treasury to blacklist Sodi and associated companies — including Blackhead Consulting and G5 Group — from bidding for government contracts for up to 10 years. If approved, the move would bar him from the procurement system that helped fuel his rise.
Sodi’s legal exposure is most closely associated with the R255 million asbestos case, in which he is on trial alongside Ace Magashule, a former Free State premier and ANC secretary general.
The state alleges only R21 million worth of work was delivered despite the full contract value being paid, and that the tender was tainted by fraud, corruption and money laundering, alongside alleged breaches of the Public Finance Management Act.
His business interests have also been linked to high-profile failures in public infrastructure delivery.
A joint venture led by Sodi failed to complete upgrades at the Rooiwal wastewater treatment plant, a project that has been associated with a deadly cholera outbreak in Hammanskraal.
Sodi has sought to shift responsibility to a deceased business partner, but the Special Investigating Unit is pursuing recovery of R56.8 million related to the matter.
In a separate case, NJR Projects has been implicated in the unlawful R600 million refurbishment of AngloGold Ashanti Hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In February 2025, the Special Tribunal declared the tender unlawful, and the SIU is seeking to recover R56.8 million from Sodi’s company.
Despite the financial and legal strain, Sodi has continued to project wealth, with reports describing a large property portfolio and a collection of luxury vehicles. Those reports have included references to properties in Fresnaye and Bryanston, as well as multiple apartments in Cape Town, alongside high-end cars.
At the same time, his personal liabilities have drawn attention. He has been reported to owe R570,000 in credit card debt to Nedbank and to have been ordered to pay a R24 million divorce settlement to his estranged wife, Nthateng Lerata.
The asbestos matter is approaching a key procedural phase, with judgment expected on preliminary issues, while a “trial within a trial” may begin on 3 February regarding the extradition of co-accused Moroadi Cholota.
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Cholota was extradited from the United States in 2024, though the Constitutional Court later found the extradition process technically flawed. She remains compelled to stand trial.
Sodi faces more than 70 charges in the asbestos case, including allegations that kickbacks were paid to officials, that proceeds were laundered through intermediaries, and that hazardous asbestos was not properly handled.
The National Prosecuting Authority’s Asset Forfeiture Unit has already obtained a R300 million restraint order over his assets, preventing their sale and exposing them to forfeiture if he is convicted.
The case also implicates several former senior officials, including Olly Mlamleli, Nthimotse Mokhesi and Thabane Zulu, who face allegations of receiving payments or manipulating processes to benefit Sodi’s companies.
Proceedings are expected to resume in March 2026 in the Free State High Court, where the state will seek to prove its case against Sodi and his co-accused in the long-running asbestos corruption trial.
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