A British businessman, who was a former contractor for South Africa’s ailing energy utility Eskom, has been extradited from the UK to face fees of corruption and fraud.
Michael Lomas is accused of taking kickbacks on contracts between his agency, Tubular Building, and Eskom for work on the Kusile energy station, which have been price in extra of 1.5bn rand ($85m: £64m).
“He allegedly manipulated contracts. He was beforehand arrested, received bail and fled the nation to the UK,” nationwide police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe instructed AFP.
He has not but commented on the allegations in opposition to him.
Eskom has been beset with corruption allegations and is struggling to recuperate from years of mismanagement that has led to extended blackouts within the nation.
Mr Lomas landed at OR Tambo Airport in Johannesburg early on Friday morning. He was in a wheelchair and beneath heavy police escort.
Ms Mathe instructed native information web site News24 that one of many situations of the extradition was to have a medical physician on the aircraft due to Mr Lomas’s poor well being.
He’s set to be formally charged at Kempton Park Justice of the Peace’s Courtroom in a while Friday.
The Nationwide Prosecuting Authority (NPA) requested Mr Lomas’s extradition in 2022, nevertheless it was delayed whereas he lodged an enchantment, which was finally rejected.
He was accused alongside 4 different alleged co-conspirators – two senior executives at Eskom and two different businessmen. They have been arrested in 2019.
The opposite 4 males have been charged with fraud, cash laundering and corruption for allegedly taking kickbacks and inflating the price of the work carried out at Kusile energy station.
This was meant to assist alleviate South Africa’s crippling electrical energy shortages however the undertaking has been beset by delays and faults, in accordance with AFP.
Mr Mathe mentioned Mr Lomas was a “wished fugitive” who can be handed over to the Hawks, the police unit that investigates financial crime, corruption and organised crime.
Hawks has been engaged on this case since 2017, when an worker positioned a grievance about one of many tenders.
