Nelson Mandela Bay Deputy Mayor Gary van Niekerk appeared briefly in the Specialized Commercial Crimes Court on Monday.
His appearance comes in the wake of his reinstatement as deputy mayor during a council meeting last week.
Van Niekerk faces two counts related to cybercrime and two for allegedly contravening the Municipal Finance Management Act.
He allegedly unlawfully, falsely, and with the intention to defraud, brought two law firms under the impression that he was authorised to instruct them to perform legal work.
The legal work pertained to Van Niekerk challenging his expulsion from the then Northern Alliance (NA).
The amount involved for both law firms amounted to more than R570,000.
During the pretrial conference, it had been confirmed that the defence had been given a copy of the docket, and the charge sheet and that they were up to speed with the merits of the case.
In addition, all financial instructions were in order regarding the legal council for the defence.
The charge sheet states that Van Niekerk hired the services of Boqwana Burns Attorneys (BBA) on 8 June 2022, allegedly without authority and in defiance of Supply Chain Management Processes or procedures.
Each financial year, a panel of attorneys is selected after relevant tender processes have been completed.
During 2022, BBA was not on the panel.
Three months later, in December 2022, after Van Niekerk's reinstatement as a councillor, he wished to obtain legal advice on council procedures.
The then City Manager declined this request and allegedly communicated to Van Niekerk, who is said to have instructed Mc Williams Elliot anyway.
The law firm later demanded payment for services rendered by the accused in his private capacity.
The matter has been set down for trial on 10 September.
