South Africa Seeks Extradition of Former Eskom Contractor

(Bloomberg) -- South African prosecutors said they are seeking the extradition of a British national who's been implicated in a fraudulent deal with the state power company.

Michael Lomas appeared in the Westminister Magistrates Court on Thursday, was granted bail of 100,000 pounds ($138,880) and submitted additional surety of 250,000 pounds, the National Prosecuting Authority's investigating directorate said in an emailed statement. He's due to return to court on May 20.

Lomas's arrest and court appearance emanated from months of talks with the U.K. authorities about a fraud and corruption case relating to Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd.'s payment of 745 million rand ($52 million) to Tubular Construction Projects, which worked on its new Kusile power plant, according to the directorate. An escalation clause in the contract exposed the utility to a 1.4 billion-rand liability, it said.

Lomas has been indicted together with four suspects, including two former Eskom executives, who were arrested in December 2019 and are next due to appear in court on June 1. The U.K. courts will decide whether Lomas has a case to answer in South Africa.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.