Former attorney, 82, sentenced over almost R40m theft and money laundering

An 82-year-old former attorney was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment on Thursday for stealing and laundering nearly R40m from an escrow account.

The Johannesburg specialised commercial crimes court, sitting in Palm Ridge, convicted Solomon Slom, a former senior partner at Fluxmans Incorporated, on 145 counts of theft and 145 counts of money laundering.

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Magaboke Mohlatlole said the charges stemmed from the misappropriation of about R39.8m from an escrow account entrusted to Slom in his professional capacity.

The court heard that in 2018, Fluxmans acted as the escrow agent under a subscription agreement and escrow agreement concluded between several parties. About R45m was deposited into the escrow account pending the fulfilment of specific contractual conditions.

After a dispute between the contracting parties, the funds were required to remain in the escrow account until the dispute had been resolved.

However, investigations later revealed that about R39.8m had been unlawfully removed from the account through 145 fraudulent transactions authorised by Slom.

Mohlatlole said the fraudulent payment requisitions directed the money into a bank account over which Slom held power of attorney, even though the account had no connection to any of the parties to the escrow agreement.

Evidence before the court showed that Slom used the money for his personal benefit, causing financial prejudice of about R39.8m to the complainant.

Senior state advocate Pretty Mabunda successfully proved that Slom unlawfully appropriated funds entrusted to him and intentionally concealed the proceeds through a series of fraudulent transactions. The court found him guilty on all counts.

Slom was sentenced to 10 years for the theft convictions and a further 10 years for money laundering. The sentences will run concurrently, resulting in an effective sentence of 10 years’ direct imprisonment.

Welcoming the conviction and sentence, the NPA said the outcome demonstrated that people entrusted with safeguarding the financial interests of others would be held accountable when they abused that trust.

“The successful prosecution reaffirms the NPA’s commitment to combating serious commercial crime, protecting the integrity of the legal profession and ensuring that perpetrators of financial crimes face the full might of the law.”

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