Disbarred advocate pleads guilty to soliciting a R5m bribe from businessman

DISBARRED senior advocate Seth Nthai has been convicted and sentenced by the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, to a hefty fine after pleading guilty to corruption charges.

- ZELDA VENTER

Nthai admitted to soliciting a R5 million bribe from Italian businessman Mario Marcenaro during a meeting in Sandton in October 2009. The high court this week accepted a plea and sentence agreement approved by the State and defence.

In terms of the agreement, the court imposed a fine of R500 000 or two years’ imprisonment for Nthai.

In addition, he received a five-year suspended sentence, wholly suspended for five years on the condition that he was not convicted of a similar offence during the suspension period.

In delivering the sentence, the court acknowledged the seriousness of the offence, noting that the complainant in the matter was the government. The plea agreement followed trial proceedings during which the presiding judge recused himself after multiple state witnesses had testified.