Joburg - After more than two years of delays, the UK court has finally granted the NPA the right to extradite a UK citizen involved in a R745 million graft case.
On Friday, the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) investigative directorate, with the help of the Department of Justice and UK-based lawyers, successfully argued for the extradition of Michael Lomas, a former Eskom contractor who is accused of fraud and corruption at Kusile power station.
The NPA obtained an extradition for Lomas in 2021, and he was later arrested by British law-enforcement agencies.
Loma, whose hearing for extradition started last December, was arrested in April and made his first appearance in the West Minister Magistrate’s Court in London, where he was granted bail of R1.7 million.
According to ANC spokesperson Sindisiwe Seboka, the court subsequently issued the extradition judgment on Thursday, December 15, with reports that Loma’s extradition is to be sent to the UK’s secretary state under the 2003 UN Convention Against Corruption, Section 87(3).
The NPA said investigating director advocate Andre Johnson had welcomed the success of the extradition following a two-year-long fight by the investigative directorate to get Lomas to stand trial in South Africa.
Loma has been fingered for more than R745m in fraud and corruption at Kusile power station, where Eskom paid R745m to Tubular Construction Projects, which exposed the power utility to over R1.4 billion in costs after the contract escalated.
“The legal process has been lengthy, and we are pleased with the judgment,” Johnson said.
Following his arrest in April, Lomas was granted R1.7m bail and later submitted an additional R4.3m surety in the same month.
Lomas was indicted along with four other suspects, who are in South Africa. They are all expected to appear before the Palm Ridge Specialised Crimes Court in the new year.
“He was out of the country when his co-accused were arrested. The ID brought the extradition application through the UK central authorities to invoke the European Convention Against Corruption 2002 to assist in bringing him back to South Africa.”
The Star