Former banker João Rendeiro denied bail

The court in Verulam, Durban, refused this Friday to release João Rendeiro on bail, as requested by the defence, while the extradition process requested by the Portuguese authorities from South Africa is ongoing.

January 10 is the day the extradition process formally begins. The former chairman of BPP will remain in provisional detention under the European extradition convention to which Portugal and South Africa are signatories, with the first 12-day deadline for due process in South Africa now running.

The judge at the Verulam Court in South Africa noted that if the former banker was released on a €2,200 bail – requested by Rendeiro’s defence – that the most likely thing was for him to leave the country. The judge admitted South Africa has several problems with “false passports”, which weighed on Friday’s decision. “ It would be very easy for João Rendeiro to get new documents and leave the country. There are not even enough means in the South African police to watch Rendeiro 24 hours a day.”