Exradited Eskom contractor Michael Lomas makes first court appearance on fraud charges

20 Sep 2024

British fugitive Michael Lomas was extradited to South Africa and landed at OR Tambo International Airport on Friday morning. Lomas is a former Kusile contractor wanted in connection with the R745-million Eskom paid to Tubular Construction Project that exposed Eskom to R1.4-billion in costs as per the escalation of the contract at the Kusile power station.

Upon arriving in South Africa, Michael Lomas (77) was handed to the Hawks and taken to a police station where his rights were read to him and he was processed, according to national police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe.

From there, Mathe added, the Hawks took Lomas to the Kempton Park Magistrate’s Court for his first appearance.

At the airport, Lomas, in a wheelchair and wearing a neck brace, was accompanied by members of the SAPS Interpol extradition unit.

He faces several charges of fraud, corruption, money laundering and offering and receiving unauthorised gratifications. It is alleged that the bribes were paid to secure contracts at the power utility. It is further alleged that Lomas facilitated the gratification. The alleged corrupt dealings occurred between 2014 and 2017.

Following his brief court appearance, Lomas’s name will be added as accused number five on the charge sheet along with co-accused Eskom senior manager France Hlakudi, former Eskom group capital division executive Abram Masango, businessperson Maphoko Kgomoeswana and Tubular Construction Projects CEO Tony Trindade.

Minister of Electricity and Energy Kgosientsho Ramokgopa welcomed Lomas’ extradition and stated that those who were at fault and were required to appear in court would be pursued wherever they were.

Lomas was always accompanied by a medical doctor during his arrest, flight, escort to court, and imprisonment. These measures are part of the extradition decision handed down by London Judge Charles Bourne, who on 23 August 2024 denied Lomas’ request to have his extradition blocked. Lomas opposed his extradition citing mental health issues and the possibility of suicide.

According to Bourne, Lomas suffers from depression, anxiety, and insomnia, and had previously sought treatment for these symptoms, as well as suicidal ideation.

However, the judge found: “There was no compelling evidence that Mr Lomas would be unable to control his suicidal impulses, as suicide could be viewed as a voluntary act despite the underlying mental health issues.

“The South African prison system was deemed capable of addressing Mr Lomas’ mental needs with appropriate medical care and monitoring in place.

Read more in Daily Maverick: “UK court rules Kusile corruption accused Michael Lomas can be extradited to SA, despite high suicide risk”

“Mr Lomas will not learn that his extradition is confirmed until the day when it is to happen, whereupon he will immediately be accompanied by the South African Police Service members and a psychiatrist on his flight back to South Africa.”

Answer allegations of corruption

Lomas’ extradition means that he will finally answer for the rot that occurred at the Kusile power station.

Henry Mamothame, the spokesperson for the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac), said in a statement that Lomas was facing 65 counts of corruption linked to the R1.4-billion that was meant for the upgrade of Eskom’s Kusile power station between 2014 and 2017.

“The Hawks in collaboration with prosecutors from Idac, conducted an intensive investigation into the alleged corruption, wherein 11 other accused are facing similar charges. Lomas will be charged and processed in the lower court before the matter is combined with the one appearing before the Johannesburg Division of the High Court where the matter is prosecuted by Idac,” he said.

The initial indictment alleges that Masango and Hlakudi fraudulently pushed for Tubular Construction Projects to be awarded, signed in April 2016, to build air-cooled condensers at Kusile. Masango and Hlakudi had oversight of contracts in the Kusile build.

Tubular Construction Projects’s Trindade, a company director at the time, and Lomas, Tubular Construction Projects executive advisor and then chairman, are alleged to have paid Masango and Hlakudi through various channels, including Kgomoeswana’s Babinatlou Business Services. According to the indictment, Lomas allegedly paid more than R1.9-million towards Hlakudi’s businesses’ accounts.

Lomas was arrested on 15 April 2021 in Emsworth, London, and granted bail of £100,000 (R1.7-million in April 2021). He submitted an additional surety of £250,000. On 15 December 2022, the Westminster Magistrate’s Court in London granted South Africa the right to extradite Lomas.

He has gone through all legal hurdles to avoid being extradited to South Africa. However, in August 2024, Judge Bourne dismissed his appeal and stated that he must be extradited to South Africa.

'Great detective work'

On Friday Mathe said Lomas’ extradition exemplified great detective work and was a credit to the team that had been working on the case since 2017.

“Our investigators began investigating this case after receiving a complaint from an Eskom official about allegations of corruption in a particular tender for the construction of parts of the Kusile power plant.

“Along the way, the Investigative Directorate was brought in. In 2019, we obtained five warrants for arrest. Four suspects were arrested at the time, including two Eskom contractors and two Eskom executives.

“Lomas allegedly manipulated contracts but fled the country to the United Kingdom,” she added.

One of the guarantees that South African authorities must provide for the ill-health and “suicidal” Lomas is that he be placed in a single cell with an official assigned to check on him on a regular basis during the day and night shifts. He will also be assessed by a psychiatrist while in prison.

To ensure that Lomas is given everything he needs to stay healthy, Captain Willem van der Heever, a police officer based with Interpol in Pretoria who was in charge of transporting Lomas from the UK to South Africa, stated in an affidavit deposed in July 2024 that once Lomas had appeared in court he will then be driven to the Johannesburg Correctional Centre, where he would be referred to the centre’s suicidal inmate management and placed in a single cell with an official assigned to check on him on a regular basis during the day and night shifts.

Mathe said Lomas would apply for bail on Friday, 27 September. DM

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Answer allegations of corruption

'Great detective work'