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A British businessman and former contractor for South Africa’s struggling power utility, Eskom, has been extradited from the UK to face 65 counts of corruption. Michael Lomas is accused of receiving kickbacks on contracts worth over 1.4 billion rand ($80m; £60m) between his company, Tubular Construction, and Eskom for work on the Kusile power station.
National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe told AFP that Lomas allegedly manipulated contracts and had fled to the UK after being arrested and granted bail. Lomas has not yet commented on the charges.
Eskom, which has been plagued by corruption scandals, continues to suffer from mismanagement, contributing to South Africa’s ongoing electricity crisis marked by frequent load-shedding.
Lomas arrived at OR Tambo Airport in Johannesburg early on Friday, escorted by heavy police presence and in a wheelchair due to poor health. A medical doctor accompanied him on the flight as a condition of his extradition, according to Ms. Mathe.
He briefly appeared in the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court, where the case was adjourned. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) had requested his extradition in 2022, but the process was delayed as Lomas lodged multiple appeals, all of which were ultimately dismissed.
Lomas is being charged alongside 11 other co-conspirators, including two senior Eskom executives and two businessmen. These individuals were arrested in 2019, and their trial is ongoing at the Johannesburg High Court. They face charges of fraud, money laundering, and corruption related to inflating costs and accepting bribes during the Kusile power station project—an initiative that was meant to ease South Africa’s power shortages but has been marred by delays and technical issues.
Lomas will now be processed and charged, and his case will be joined with that of his alleged co-conspirators. Brigadier Mathe stated that Lomas, a “wanted fugitive,” would be handed over to the Hawks, South Africa’s special police unit tasked with investigating economic crime, corruption, and organized crime. The Hawks have been working on the case since 2017, following a complaint by an Eskom employee about one of the tenders.
